KUWAIT CITY, 8 March 2005 — Hundreds of Kuwaiti women rallied outside Parliament yesterday to press for their political rights.

“Women’s rights now,” “Shariah does not contain anything against women’s rights,” read placards, many of them in the blue color symbolizing the struggle of women in Kuwait.

More than 500 people, mostly women but also including a number of male liberal sympathizers, took part in the rally.

Young Kuwaiti women were among the demonstrators, several of whom expressed optimism that they would finally win the right to vote and run for public office despite opposition.

The Kuwaiti Parliament, meanwhile, agreed yesterday to a government request to speed up moves to look into the bill that would grant women the vote, but did not set a date for the proposed debate. The chamber yesterday requested its interior and defense committee, which is dominated by tribal MPs, to promptly consider the government-sponsored bill before referring it to the full house.

The government will arrange with the committee to set a date for the debate, State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Daifallah Sharar told Parliament during the session, which heard arguments from both supporters and opponents of the draft legislation.

Inside, the gallery was packed with women, but they were ushered out after ignoring the speaker’s warnings not to applaud MPs who spoke in favor of enfranchising women.

“I know that the majority (of MPs) will back women’s rights,” Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah told Parliament.

Ten lawmakers agreed to withdraw a motion to refer the election law to the constitutional court in a bid to grant women their political rights, saying they would give Parliament a chance to debate the bill.

On the eve of the meeting, the Islamist Bloc, which comprises 13 MPs, said it would oppose the government request to set a date for debating the bill as the “women’s rights issue is not a priority for a majority of the Kuwaiti people”.

The bill, approved by the Cabinet last May, amends Article One of the 1962 electoral law that limits participation to male citizens to bring it in line with the constitution, which stipulates gender equality.

In a rare move, the government has launched a media campaign on state-run television and radio stations to win public support for the bill, as opponents hold near-daily public rallies.