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| Arabia |
| Kuwait hardliners stomp out of parliament over wimmin's appearance |
| 2008-06-02 |
| Hard-liners walked out of the ParliamentÂ’s inaugural meeting to protest the absence of head scarves on two women Cabinet ministers. The nine men walked out as the ministers began taking their oath of office and only returned when the two women, Modhi Al-Homoud and Nouria Al-Subeih, had been sworn in. Al-Homoud, the minister of state for housing and development, ignored attempts by conservative lawmakers remaining in the chamber to take the floor as she read her oath, wearing a skirt rather than the head scarf and long robes. Education Minister Nouria Al-Subeih, who does dress conservatively though not with a head scarf, was not interrupted. She went through a similar situation when she was first appointed in April 2007. Kuwaiti women failed to win any seats in the two elections since they were given the right to run for office and vote, but one did come close in the last contest. |
| Posted by:Fred |