Kuwait extends voting rights to women

KUWAIT CITY – Parliament extended political rights to Kuwaiti women Monday, but religious fundamentalists who opposed women’s suffrage succeeded in attaching a clause requiring female politicians and voters to abide by Islamic law.

It was not clear if that meant a strict dress code or just separate polling stations and election campaigns.

Some of the women activists who ululated and sang the national anthem after the 35-23 vote enacting the law expressed concern about the vague restriction, but others refused to let it dampen their joy.

“I am overexcited. I can’t believe this,” said Rola Dashti, who said she’d run in parliamentary elections.

Dashti, a U.S.-educated economist, said the clause probably meant separate polling stations and not an imposition of a strict Islamic dress code that allows only women’s face, hands and feet to show.

Islamic conservatives called the law a “bombshell” and accused the government of bowing to foreign pressure. They believe women’s participation in politics contradicts Islam’s teachings and complain it will allow women to mix with men freely.

Nasser al-Saneh, a fundamentalist lawmaker who voted against the bill, said he respected the house’s decision but hoped it did not come as a result of “government pressure that changed the position of many.”

Women can now vote in all Middle Eastern nations where elections are held except Saudi Arabia. The Persian Gulf nations of Bahrain, Qatar and Oman all have held their first elections in recent years and have allowed women to cast ballots.

In an effort to win over some opponents, the Kuwaiti Cabinet met Monday to approve a pay increase for Kuwaiti state employees and pensioners. The government then insisted parliament vote on a women’s rights bill it introduced a year ago to end the prohibition on women voting and running for office.

The development surprised fundamentalist and tribal lawmakers, who expected to debate a law that would have let women participate in 2009 elections for municipal councils.

The new law passed six years to the day after Kuwait’s emir, Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, granted women political rights by decree, but his order was overturned by lawmakers. Shortly after, lawmakers quashed an identical suffrage bill proposed by liberal members.