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Things are bad for the bidoun of Kuwait. They cannot work, cannot protest, cannot marry, and cannot travel. Almost all of the rights they used to enjoy have been taken away. Yet things are even worse for bidoun women, for whom these restrictions carry heavy cultural stigmas and even heavier social consequences.

When I interviewed one bidoun activist, he told me why he decided to participate in his community's recent demonstrations: to secure a better life for his one-month-old daughter. That decision came at a heavy price, and he was arrested for speaking out. Now he fears that his daughter's life will be even more difficult than his own. The other activists in the room with us began to cry as they heard his words - clearly, they felt the same way.

Bidoun women are prevented from marrying bidoun men because neither have the proper paperwork to get a Kuwaiti marriage license. In some cases, in order to have their marriages recorgnized, they resort to signing affidavits admitting to 'improper relations'. Others decide to live in partnerships instead of marriages - which can be a real source of shame in conservative Kuwaiti society. Marriage, one bidoun told me, is "no longer a dream, but instead moving from one struggle to an ever worse struggle."

Young bidoun women rarely strive to excel in education, since they are barred from attending Kuwaiti schools beyond the elementary level. They also cannot work. One young woman, an activist and social media organizer, told me that because of the difficulties they face, many bidoun women choose not to marry or try to have a family. In doing so, they face the stigma associated with being a single woman in Kuwait - which can lead to harassment and assault. Because they are bidoun, there is little they can do to protect themselves or seek redress. As the activist told me, personal safety is a luxury for stateless young women.

The situation for Kuwaiti women married to bidoun men is not much better. Back in September, my colleagues called attention to discriminatory nationality laws that prevent these women from passing citizenship on to their children.

As the first activist passed around a photo of his daughter (whose lovely, bright smile showed no understanding of the difficult life ahead) we talked about what the future will be like. The recent protests here in Kuwait have brought more restrictions on the community: government workers who participated have been fired, evicted from their homes, and in many cases arrested. Women have been beaten in the streets, and even threatened with sexual assault and abuse. But the bidoun are prepared to fight on, meaning the violence against them could still get worse.

The bidoun of Kuwait are simply asking for the basic rights that nationality conveys: the right to marry, work, demonstrate peacefully, and be protected from abuse. With those rights, the women of the bidoun community could finally claim the respect and honor they deserve. We cannot ask them to wait any longer.