Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05KUWAIT1863
2005-05-05 07:57:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:  

WOMEN SPLIT ON FUTURE OF POLITICAL RIGHTS, SOME

pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 001863 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KWMN SOCI KU WOMEN POLITICAL RIGHTS
SUBJECT: WOMEN SPLIT ON FUTURE OF POLITICAL RIGHTS, SOME
BELIEVE BILL WILL PASS IN TWO WEEKS

REF: A. KUWAIT 1836

B. KUWAIT 1808

C. 04 KUWAIT 949

Classified By: DCM Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 001863

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KWMN SOCI KU WOMEN POLITICAL RIGHTS
SUBJECT: WOMEN SPLIT ON FUTURE OF POLITICAL RIGHTS, SOME
BELIEVE BILL WILL PASS IN TWO WEEKS

REF: A. KUWAIT 1836

B. KUWAIT 1808

C. 04 KUWAIT 949

Classified By: DCM Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: During several meetings with women's rights
activists and supporters on May 4, PolOffs noted varying
differences in opinion on the chances of success for women's
political rights. Several expressed little hope that the
two-week delay requested by Prime Minister Sabah Al-Ahmad
Al-Sabah would result in any meaningful change. Others were
almost certain that the time is being used by the GOK to make
deals with Members of Parliament (MPs) in order to ensure
legislative success for women's Municipal Council political
rights when Parliament reconvenes May 16. All expressed
frustration with the political maneuvering that took place
during the Parliamentary sessions on May 2 and 3 and most
thought the GOK did not do enough to guarantee the success of
the bill. All remarked to PolOffs that if the measure
ultimately fails, it would be the Government's fault.
Throughout the conversations PolOffs reiterated the Embassy's
firm support for the rights of women everywhere to be full
participants in the political life of their countries. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) During a series of May 4 discussions with women's
rights activists and supporters, PolOffs received mixed
assessments of the possibility for success of the bill that
would grant women full political rights at the Municipal
Council level. Although there was uncertainty about the
legal standing of the vote on municipal elections, all the
activists we spoke with questioned the sincerity of the
Government's professed interest in granting women political
rights after the May 2 vote ended inconclusively and under
unusual circumstances. The May 2 vote, during which
pro-government MPs opted to abstain in large numbers from
supporting an amendment granting women voting rights in
municipal elections was the latest missed opportunity for the
GOK to back up public claims that expanding suffrage to

include women is among its top priorities (refs A and B).

Some Have Little Hope...
--------------


3. (C) Professor of Political Science Dr. Maryam Hasan
Al-Kandari expressed little hope that women would get their
rights when the National Assembly convenes on May 16. She
was discouraged by the vote and said that many MPs view women
in general as second-class citizens. She also expressed
frustration that the women's organizations were not doing
more to publicly pursue the issue of women's rights.
Referring to fact that women's groups have done little since
the women's political rally in front of the National Assembly
on March 7, she said the political activities of women's
organizations are like a balloon popping, and even when they
pop, she said "they don't make any sound."


4. (C) Dr. Haila Al-Mekaimi, a young professor of political
science at Kuwait University told PolOff that she was very
disappointed with the outcome of the parliamentary vote. She
opined that the vote on women's political rights illustrated
the lack of any serious GOK vision. She claimed that the
failure of the vote in favor of women's rights is the result
of a troubled political system. Stating that Kuwait is no
longer behaving like a parliamentary monarchy, she explained
that it is now a government of coalitions. She said all
issues are settled by ad hoc coalitions that are formed
around Cabinet power bases currently: PM Shaykh Sabah, Energy
Minister Shaykh Ahmad Al-Fahd Al-Sabah, Minister of State for
Cabinet and Parliamentary Affairs Dhaiffalah Sharar, and the
young but influential Shaykh Mohammed Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak.


5. (C) Secretary General of the Women's Cultural and Social
Society and women's rights activist Lulwa Al-Mulla expressed
great disappointment about the parliamentary vote and held
out little hope of any near-term success. She now questions
whether the GOK was ever serious about the issue of women's
rights saying she was insulted by the manner in which the
vote took place. She thinks the petty politics that appeared
to mark the voting process cheapened the important issue of
women's rights. She opined that the GOK wants to look
serious but does little to support the enfranchisement of
women. She lamented how little the GOK has done to influence
MPs on the legislation.


6. (C) Al-Mulla was also concerned that if women gained their
political rights at the Municipal Council level that the
political forces would be satisfied with the partial victory
and would not pursue women's rights at a national level. She
stated that PM Shaykh Sabah must be firm on this issue for it
to pass, but speculated that perhaps he could not succeed on
this issue without giving more than he is willing to in
exchange for MP support.

...While Others See Success On The Horizon
--------------

7. (C) Kuwait University Professor of Sociology Dr. Lubna
Al-Kazi believes that the vote was a "big game." She said
that there were far too many abstentions from MPs whom she
knows support women's political rights for it not to be an
"orchestrated tactic." She explained that most of the MPs
who abstained did so because the GOK did not offer them
anything in return for their support. Those MPs, she
explained, are looking forward to cutting a deal with the GOK
in the next two weeks to vote in favor of the municipal
rights bill in return for government acquiescence on other
issues, possibly including agreeing to a national pay raise,
forgiveness of electricity bill debt, lowering the voting age
to 18, and granting voting rights to members of the police
and the military. (Note: Should the members of the police and
military, now denied the right to vote or run for office,
gain their political rights, this would directly politically
benefit the rural bedouin tribes because the majority of the
personnel in these organizations are drawn from their ranks.
End Note.) Dr. Lubna said that she knows for example, that
MP Bader Shaykhan Al-Farsi supports women's political rights;
when he and others like him abstained, she was convinced that
what was occurring was a political tactic. She expects that
a deal will be arranged to ensure passage of the measure.
(Note: An EmbOff present in Parliament during the May 3
session was told cryptically by MP Bader Al-Farsi as he was
walking out of the Assembly to not worry because "it will
pass in two weeks." End Note.)


8. (C) Women's rights activist and head of the Kuwait
Economics Society Dr. Rola Dashti said that the session was
"chaos" and that no one knew what was going on. She said
this was complicated by the fact that while the PM is truly
committed to passing women's rights, many of his Ministers
are not. Specifically, she accused Minister Sharar of
lobbying against the amendment and then reporting to PM
Shaykh Sabah that they did not have enough votes. Calling
the process "frustrating," she said there was "lots of
maneuvering" going on behind the scenes. At one point, she
noticed Energy Minister Shaykh Ahmad Al-Fahad sitting next to
Shi'a MPs Saleh Ashour and Sayed Al-Qallaf, who then changed
their votes from abstentions to no votes.


9. (C) Dr. Rola said she is "95 percent sure" that the
scheduled vote in two weeks would result in women getting the
vote, but that another measure on the postponement of
scheduled June Municipal Council elections would not pass.
Nonetheless, she said things may have worked out better this
way, as women will have "ample time" to organize for 2009 and
will stand a higher chance of being elected than if they had
only a few weeks to prepare. She said that she is almost
positive that the GOK intends to install a female member on
the Municipal Council after the elections. She noted that
the female Undersecretary of the Ministry of Planning had
attended Municipal Council meetings before, but this had
received little attention. (Note: The GOK appoints 6 of the
16 seats on the Municipal Council. End Note.)


10. (C) Likewise, writer and professor Dr. Siham Al-Furaih,
was not suprised by the May 2 and 3 events, lamenting that
Kuwaiti women have been through this before. She remained
optimistic, however, that Kuwaiti women would receive the
right to vote before the 2007 end of the parliamentary term.


PM Either Not Serious Or Engaged In Deal-Making
-------------- --


11. (C) Comment: Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah undoubtedly did
not make a strong effort to secure passage of this amendment.
The PM allowed his Social Affairs Minister to be out of the
country during the voting, permitted his Salafi Justice
Minister to be absent from the session, and has thus far
chosen not to appoint a replacement Health Minister since the
resignation of Mohammed Jarallah. Further, some have noted
the absence of serious deal-making with MPs on the part of
the Cabinet, especially when compared to the strong effort
made to save former Finance Minister Mahmoud Al-Nouri from a
Parliamentary vote of no-confidence in March 2004 (ref C).
The abstentions by many of the pro-Government MPs on May 2
also did little to convince most that the votes were
legitimately cast and not part of a larger political strategy
engineered by the GOK. These political machinations call
into question the seriousness of PM Shaykh Sabah's public
comments hailing women's political rights as one of his top
priorities. That said, post finds it plausible that the GOK
will use the two weeks before the next Parliamentary session
to secure promises of support on the amendment, should a
re-vote occur.

*********************************************
Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/

You can also access this site through the
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website
*********************************************
LEBARON