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Kuwait - Women & Politics: Obstacles & Prospects

Aseel Al-Awadhi Discusses Challenges Facing Women in Politics

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 10, 2009: “I was the first female candidate in the 2008 parliamentary elections supported by a political party — the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) — fighting a cultural phenomenon of ‘political non-activism’ among women,” Assistant Professor in Kuwait University (KU) Dr Aseel Al-Awadhi said Thursday. Al-Awadhi made the statement while delivering a lecture on ‘Women and Politics in Kuwait: Obstacles & Prospects’ at the Aware Center in Surra. She was one of the women candidates in the last legislative elections in Kuwait and currently a professor at KU, teaching political philosophy and critical thinking. She discussed the challenges that Kuwaiti women face in the political arena.

Talking about her experience as a woman fighting to get a seat in a Parliament dominated by males in a patriarchal political system, Al-Awadhi disclosed “I participated in the elections at a time when female political activists were grappling with increasing pressure. As a new face coming recently from the United States of America (USA), my ability and opportunity to win was undermined by my male counterparts.” However, what was more shocking, she said, was the opposition she faced from women in particular. “The more important factor behind a parliamentary seat slipping through my fingers was the women voters. They are largely inexperienced voters and are too naive to see the hypocrisy and deceit involved in real politics. The Islamists and their extreme ideologies have also influenced these women. They say if you vote for a woman you will go to hell or if you vote for a liberal your prayers will not be answered and so on. Another factor for my defeat was the established propaganda that ‘no woman will win the elections, so do not waste your votes on them,” Al-Awadhi emphasized.

Mission
Al-Awadhi asserted she will not give up her mission to reform the current political system and considered her running for the elections in 2008 a success in itself. “I see it as a major success, not only for me but for all the Kuwaiti women in general. It was unexpected for a female to come very close to winning especially with the short time I had. I obtained 5,000 votes and gained 11th position with a difference of 600 votes from the 10th MP in my constituency,” she stated. “When I lost a parliamentary seat by such a small difference, I have somehow encouraged all women to trust in our ability to play a crucial role in the state’s polity. Women are now ready to fight a patriarchal society proving that we have a brain and we can think,” she opined.

“My major success, however, was in presenting a new perception on what a politician should be. I approached my audience by introducing them indirectly to political philosophy, one that concentrates on critical thinking and rationality, rather than emotional language and aggression. I introduced a new kind of political speech that proved how women can play decision-making roles while one or two women can pose a threat to the persisting patriarchal society,” stressed Al-Awadhi.

Encouraged
Al-Awadhi also spoke about the importance of families to raise women in a manner that they will be encouraged to enter the political arena, develop their self-confidence, and give them a chance to be independent because men alone cannot initiate total change and development. “Hopefully, people will start voting based on the qualifications of the candidates, not gender, in the near future,” she added.
On the importance of culture and education to make a difference in the political system and increase awareness especially among minority groups like women, Al-Awadhi said “a clear example of minority persecution is gender segregation in educational institutions. Segregation in KU has had a very negative outcome. If they impose segregation in private universities, it’s a clear suppression of freedom of choice. And if education remains controlled by fundamentalists, nothing will get better. As a teacher, I am trying to introduce a culture and education that stress emancipation through new courses such as Critical Thinking, Political Philosophy and Ethics.”

Problems
Al-Awadhi also tackled the serious problems with the way the educational system is shaping the minds of children. This, she said, is the reason why even educated people are unable to think critically in this country. “People with closed minds in Kuwait are a product of the system. Education should essentially develop critical thinking in children, without this a democratic future cannot be built in this nation. People who can’t think critically and blindly follow rigid beliefs cannot promote true democracy. There is a need for free-thinking people who can appreciate the views of others for the establishment of democracy. We have to work on the minds of people, and what better place than the educational institutions, where critical thinking has to be taught and put in practice,” Al-Awadhi stated. Al-Awadhi concluded the lecture by expressing her wish to run for the elections again but “it depends on the series of dissolutions in the Parliament.”

By Rena Sadeghi
Arab Times Staff

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