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Fresh hope for Islam's 'suffragettes' in Kuwait
While universal suffrage has been the norm in the West for decades, in the Middle East it remains a flashpoint between modernisers and Islamic fundamentalists. But women's rights in the region will receive a major boost later this month if Kuwait's parliament decides to grant females the vote, following in the footsteps of the other Gulf states, Bahrain and Qatar, which have already enfranchised women, although neither has yet elected a female member of parliament.The battle for the female franchise in Kuwait has been going on for decades. The emir, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, approved the move in 1999 only for parliament to turn it down by two votes after the stormiest debate in its history. Afterwards hundreds of men cheered in the streets. However, earlier this year Kuwait's Council of Ministers approved a draft bill to amend the 1962 constitution and give women both the right to vote and to stand for parliament. Women's campaigners say they are confident this time. "We will win, not with a landslide, but with enough votes," said Rola Dashti, one of the campaign leaders, who four years ago failed in [her bid] to secure the vote through court action. Haya Abdulrahman Al-Mughni, a Kuwaiti sociologist and author of Women in Kuwait: The Politics of Gender, backs the move, but doubts whether the result will be as radical as some are expecting. She said: "As the current legislation has provoked relatively little public opposition so far, its prospects appear more favourable." Posted by: Bulldog 2004-10-17 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=46174 |