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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 “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 Problems By
Rena Sadeghi |
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