Only five per cent or 10,623 votes were polled by all the 17 female candidates for the parliament.
And none of them could make it to the Chamber of Deputies. As many as 215,000 voters exercised franchise in the first round of elections on November 25.
Only one woman, Latifa Al Gaoud, was elected unopposed from the Hawar constituency in the Southern Governorate before the elections.
Dr Munira Fakhro polled 3,169 votes, The candidate of Wa’ad Society was in neck-and-neck with her main rival Dr Salah Ali but lost after the results of the general polling stations.
Shahzalan Khamees was backed by the National Unity Bloc. The other 15 were independents.
Fawzia Zainal contesting from the Central Governorate (Constituency-8) got 2,599 votes. “I have no regrets about my defeat. I have learned from this experience. It is disappointing that it is still considered a taboo for women here to contest elections. I want the new deputies to work for the welfare of the people.”
In the third position was Dr. Amal Al Jowder who contested from the Central Governorate (Constituency -1).
She said, “Expectations were high and all female candidates were high in spirits. The participation of women was good and there was a good response from voters.
But, we have no regrets about not making it to the parliament. We will contest next time as elections are a step forward for democracy. The sectarian issue also helped some parliamentarians in their victory.” One of the main focuses of Dr Al Jowder was the patients’ rights law which she expects the new MPs to consider.
“This is important for the patients who should have access to treatment, information and the right to know about the diseases they are suffering from. There would be no discrimination against those suffering from HIV, sickle cell or any such ailment. I want this to be implemented by the new deputies.”
Fathya Hussain Khalil Kaim contesting from Northern Governorate (Constituency-7) secured just 43 votes, the lowest garnered by any female candidate. Female voters outnumbered male counterpart. Some candidates canvassed online, organised buffets and delivered lectures in their tents which were well attended by women folk.
The Supreme Council for Women also did its bit by financially assisting the female candidates.