KUWAIT CITY: Kuwaitis elected women Parliament members for the first time and rejected a number of Islamist candidates in a weekend vote that many hoped would bring stability to the country’s rocky political scene.
Women gained the right to vote and run for office in 2005 but failed in two previous elections to win seats in the 50-member Parliament. Official results from Saturday’s vote were read out by judges on state-owned TV yesterday.
Some politicians have fought against extending political rights to women. “This is a message that the Kuwaiti society has started to move away from such movements that are based on hatred,” said political commentator Sami Al-Nisf.
Many voters also said they were tired of years of political upheaval sparked by Parliament’s frequent attacks on Cabinet members, which often led to attempts to impeach ministers.
Saturday’s election was the outcome of one such confrontation, which prompted the emir to dissolve Parliament and call the vote, the second time that has happened in a year.
“Frustration with the past two parliaments pushed voters to seek change. And here it comes in the form of this sweeping victory for women,” said one of the women elected, Massouma Al-Mubarak, who was also the country’s first woman Cabinet minister.
All of the women winners have Ph.D.’s from the United States. Among them is economist and women’s rights activist Rola Dashti, who battled in court for political rights for Kuwaiti women years before the legislature approved the suffrage bill. The other two women are education professor Salwa Al-Jassar and philosophy professor Aseel Al-Awadhi.
