|
Liberals lobby for women ahead of Monday debate
 Kuwaiti liberal activists met Saturday with Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah who assured them the government is serious about granting women political rights, an activist said. "He told us the government is working very hard to garner the support needed in Parliament to approve women's rights," Khaled Al-Mutairi, leader of the liberal National Democratic Alliance, told AFP. "This time the government is more determined. It has begun a campaign for women's rights in state-run media and Cabinet ministers are trying to convince undecided lawmakers," he said. The government last month asked Parliament to hold a special session to debate a draft law that calls for amending article one of the 1962 electoral law which limits voting and candidacy to male citizens.The request is scheduled to be debated by Parliament on Monday amid sharp divisions between an Islamist-tribal alliance opposed to women's rights and pro-women liberal MPs backed by the government. Kuwait's hardline Islamists and their conservative allies have embarked on a counter-offensive with the aim of thwarting the bill, citing religious justifications. "They are not opposing women's rights for religious reasons, but purely for electoral purposes," Mutairi charged. Both camps are organizing rallies to win public support with Kuwaiti women activists planning to demonstrate outside Parliament on Monday to press MPs to support their rights. Kuwait's next parliamentary elections are scheduled for July 2007. Posted by: Fred 2005-03-06 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=58198 |