Note:  Freedom House is working with the Women Cultural Social Society and UNIFEM in Kuwait to assess the degree to which Kuwaiti voters are concerned about family law and women's rights. Below is a press communique just released by the Women Cultural Social Society regarding today's elections.

In the only nationwide survey conducted in Kuwait on the eve of the elections, results show that most Kuwaitis will vote based on candidates' political platforms rather than gender. 

"Clearly, women have come a long way in a short time," says Shaikha Al Nusf, President of the Women Cultural Social Society, which conducted the poll.  "In the one month since the Emir called for elections," she said, "women candidates and voters have made this election about issues rather than traditional affiliations."

In Al-Adliya, District 11, where 7 out of the total 28 Kuwaiti women running in these elections are based, 64% of voters said that they will vote based on political platforms.

Surveying over 1376 voters in all 25 districts of Kuwait, the results revealed a wide spectrum of views:

Kuwaiti women, who represent 57% of registered voters, have raised concerns about women's rights: 

• 56% of women and 49% of men consider citizenship laws the highest priority;
• 50% of women and 41% of men say divorce laws is a priority;
• 55% of women and 41% of women regard custody as a priority;
• Though women are not permitted to receive passports without permission of their husbands, only 29% of Kuwaitis identified freedom of movement and travel as a priority. 

Forty-five percent of women identified property and housing laws as major issues to be addressed by parliamentarians.  Only 26% of men, who benefit most from Kuwait's discriminatory housing laws, considered this important.  

Concerning what traits voters would like to see in candidates, 67% of Kuwaiti voters consider knowledge of personal status laws (family laws which affect the rights of women in marriage, divorce, inheritance, custody, etc.)  to be a priority.

When elected, voters would like to see parliamentarians work to implement personal status laws and legislation.  Seventy-two percent of women and men consider this a top priority. 

Six-hundred and twenty-one respondents - including 356 women and 265 men - would like to see female judges serve in Sharia'a courts.  Today, there are no women judges in Kuwait, in secular or religious courts.   

These findings are based upon a poll conducted with 1376 Kuwaiti men and women, proportional to the population, aged 19 to over 60, conducted in all 25 electoral districts of Kuwait.  Respondents represented a wide spectrum of educational and income levels throughout the country. 

More data from the survey is available here.

The Women Cultural Social Society is the oldest Kuwaiti organization devoted to women's issues.  The Society's main objective is to develop women in all fields, encourage their participation in community activities and increase their awareness of their rights and responsibilities.  The survey was conducted by the Cultural Social Society.

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