Kuwait - Women & Politics

Kuwaiti Complexities: Women and Politics

Women ran for elections and went to the polls for the first time in Kuwait
on June 29. No women, however, were elected. In this brief article, AWID
explores the complexities of women's political participation in Kuwait.

By Rochelle Jones

In May 2005, Kuwaiti women won the right to run for office and to vote for
the first time. It was not an easy win and, of course, not without
opposition, but it recognised women as equal participants in their
country's politics and ended decades of frustration for women's rights
groups. This year, 28 of the 252 candidates for Parliament were women, and
women comprised 57 percent of registered voters [1], so why weren't any of
them elected?

One female candidate exclaimed that the women of Kuwait had ''failed'' them
because they did not stand behind women candidates in the elections [2].
Other candidates, however, blamed the complexities of current Kuwaiti
politics for their election disappointment, choosing the more optimistic
stance characteristic of Kuwaiti feminism that has evolved out of the
suffrage struggles of the 1960s, by asserting that the elections were good
practice for the women of Kuwait.

Looking beneath the surface, the reasons behind women's alleged 'failure'
at the polls are complex and steeped in history. What emerges is that
whilst women may not have won seats in parliament this time, they certainly
haven't lost the struggle. Several sub-plots have influenced the outcome,
and peeling away the different layers reveals the political and cultural
intricacies responsible.

PARTY LINES

At a cursory glance, and with the climate of jubilation surrounding
long-awaited women's suffrage, it seems unusual that none of the 28 women
candidates won seats in the recent elections. However, the political
realities in the short lead up to the elections meant little time for women
to prepare their campaigns, being relatively unknown and inexperienced in
political circles, and meant facing tough opposition from veteran male
politicians.

Parliament was dissolved in late May when reformist lawmakers stormed out
over a bitter debate around reducing the number of constituencies in
Kuwait. As a result, election polls were caught along the party lines of
the reformist opposition and the more conservative members of parliament
such as the Sunni Islamists, who played a pivotal role in the liberation of
Kuwait from Iraq, and the traditionals, who remain close to their tribal
origins [3].

Negotiating the political arena on such rocky terrain was going to be hard
work for any newcomer. Against this backdrop, women making their debut
into politics and winning seats was almost impossible, particularly because
the greatest opponents of women's political rights - the Sunni Islamists -
showed that they still pull significant weight in the streets of Kuwait,
winning three more seats in this election than the previous parliament,
claiming 17 seats out of 50.

The opposition, which focused its campaign on the issue of the number of
constituencies, won 33 out of 50 parliamentary seats, proving that it's not
only women who are looking for reform in Kuwait. Reformers built their
campaign around the large number of constituencies resulting in
''neighbourhood'' politics with vote-buying and other corruption – pushing
for the number to be reduced from 25 to five.

WOMEN'S ACCESS ON THE GROUND

Digging deeper, cultural and religious issues also played a pivotal role in
the outcome of the Kuwaiti elections. Nathan Brown, from the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace and Professor of political science and
international affairs at George Washington University, analysed women's
chances of winning in the week before the elections:

''I think a woman running in a heavily religious constituency would come
into problems because of the conservative nature of the voters. It's not
just a matter of convincing women to vote for them but even in getting
access to voters. For instance, public gatherings are traditionally male
only, or more recently, sex segregated. So if any women candidates were to
win, I would say it would be in the liberal or secular constituencies of
society...'' [4]

Just after women were granted the right to vote and stand for elections,
Islamist members of parliament added a clause saying that women must abide
by Islamic Law when voting and campaigning. This restricts candidates'
access to voters and vice versa, and results in campaigns staged on
anything but a level playing field.

FUTURE PATHWAYS TO POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

Last week, the new parliament passed the long-awaited reform bill, reducing
the number of constituencies to five. If approved by the Emir, this is going
to have a significant effect on the future of women's political
participation. With large numbers of constituencies, issues were
essentially focused on who sticks up for particular neighborhoods - not
necessarily a focus on broad political and social issues [5]. Reducing the
number of constituencies inevitably means broadening political platforms,
and this could mean that women candidates have the opportunity to raise
awareness of issues that are important to them, as well as gain credibility
in areas that have historically been dominated by seasoned male politicians
with fiercely loyal constituents.

Kuwaiti women have come a long way in their suffrage struggles. To view the
election results as a failure for women would be to disregard decades of
bravery and perseverance. So although the recent elections may be seen as a
setback to some, they can also be seen as a wind of change in Kuwaiti
politics, perhaps paving the way for future women leaders.

Notes:
[1] International Herald Tribune, June 29, 2006. Kuwaiti women cast votes
for the first time. Available from:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/29/news/web.0629kuwait.php
[2] International Herald Tribune, June 30, 2006. Reformists sweep votes in
Kuwait: Women lose. Available from:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/30/news/kuwait.php
[3] Association for Women's Rights in Development, May 15, 2005. Feminism
in Kuwait: A report on the struggle for women's political participation.
Available from:
http://www.awid.org/go.php?list=analysis&prefix=analysis&item=00246

[4] Zvika Krieger, Newsweek, June 28, 2006. Kuwait's Thaw. Available from:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13594699/site/newsweek/