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| Arabia |
| New Religious Edict in Kuwait for Women's Suffrage |
| 2005-03-19 |
| The emir should have the last word on granting women political rights if Muslim clerics disagree, said a religious edict issued by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs on Saturday. The Cabinet and the suffrage supporters hope the edict - or fatwa - will convince undecided lawmakers, mostly tribal and independent, to approve a government-proposed bill that could give Kuwaiti women the right to vote and run as candidates. The Cabinet's amendment to the 1962 election law that restricts political rights to men is expected to be up for a vote in the coming weeks. The emir, Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, supports women's rights. In 1999, Parliament acted against a suffrage decree he issued because it was signed when the legislature was not in session. Soon after, fundamentalist Sunni Muslims and tribal lawmakers narrowly defeated an identical bill. According to a copy of Saturday's fatwa, "a decision by the ruler should end disputes on matters" upon which there is no religious consensus. The edict said both clerics who believe Islamic law gives women the right to vote and run for public office and those who don't have valid arguments. Some clerics say women can be allowed to vote but not run as candidates. Most Muslim fundamentalist lawmakers have said they will vote against women's rights. But the country's Islamist political Ummah Party broke ranks with other Islamist groups last month by announcing its support for women's political rights. Ummah, whose name means nation, said it based its decision on religious edicts by modern clerics. Shiites do not have a problem with suffrage, according to their interpretation of Islam. In other Muslim democratic nations, such as Indonesia and Iran, women vote and run for public office. Kuwaiti women make up some 40 percent of the national work force in this oil-rich ally of Washington. They have reached high positions in education, oil and the diplomatic corps. Most women are ambivalent about political rights, believing they have nothing to gain from them. In a pig's eye. Two iron rules about the right to vote is that first, women like it, and second, they tend to vote the same way as their family. The Kuwaitis are in for a pleasant surprise. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |