KUWAIT, 9 January 2008 — Kuwait’s only woman minister, who angered conservatives by refusing to wear a head scarf, faced hostile questioning from an Islamist lawmaker yesterday, adding to tension between the government and Parliament.
Education Minister Nouriya Al-Subeeh has been under fire from the start of her tenure after defying calls for her to cover her hair when she was sworn in last April.
Newspapers said up to 20 lawmakers backed a move by legislator Saad Al-Sharie to interrogate her in Parliament over her record — a move often used to force ministers to resign before a no-confidence vote.
Kuwait’s Parliament was locked in a row with the government for much of last year. Newspapers said the latest clash could prompt the country’s ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, to dissolve the assembly.
Pressure has been mounting on Al-Subeeh since her ministry tried to deny an incident in which three boys were sexually assaulted by Asian laborers at a primary school, newspapers said.
Al-Sharie, requesting the questioning session, said the assaults had been the result of negligence. He accused Al-Subeeh of administrative irregularities and said she was behind falling educational standards.
“We have been trying to find indications of educational reform but we have found only the opposite,” Al-Sharie said in Parliament. He described Al-Subeeh’s management style as: “I can do what I like and no one can hold me accountable.”
Al-Subeeh said she was working hard to reform the country’s educational system, rejecting accusations of irregularities in her ministry. “I’m applying the law,” she said.
The minister also told Parliament, which was packed with women visitors attending the public grilling, she had dealt efficiently with the sexual attack incident. “I referred the case to the state prosecution,” Al-Subeeh added.
