PRIVATE POLL IN KUWAIT REVEALS MAJORITY OF MEN

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 001912

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/2015
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KWMN KU WOMEN POLITICAL RIGHTS
SUBJECT: PRIVATE POLL IN KUWAIT REVEALS MAJORITY OF MEN
SUPPORT WOMEN'S POLITICAL RIGHTS

REF: A. KUWAIT 1091


B. 04 KUWAIT 4540

Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Political up-and-comer Shaykh Mohammed Al-Abdullah
Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah (ref B) provided the Ambassador with the
results from a poll he commissioned indicating 50% of Kuwaiti
men back full political rights for women. Another 28% support
women's right to vote, but not pursue elected office, while
22% oppose women's political participation to any degree. The
results mirror those of other surveys (ref A). The poll was
conducted in March, just weeks after the start of the GOK
push for women's political rights.


2. (C) The poll reveals a positive correlation between men of
a certain age and support for women's rights. Among men 45
and older, 67% back women's suffrage while that number drops
to only 38% for those under 30. Sixty-one percent of those
with a monthly salary of at least 2,000KD ($6,920) approve
while those with less than 800KD ($2,770) back the measure by
41%. Level of education had a minor impact on the results,
with support from high school drop-outs to university
graduates hovering around 50%. The survey indicates that 43%
of men believe women's political rights are contrary to
Islamic shari'a. Of those who oppose women's suffrage, 50%
believe that new political liberties will lead to neglect of
the family.


3. (C) Shaykh Mohammed reported that this poll is one of many
he has commissioned on a variety of political and social
topics. The Pan Arab Research Center, the local affiliate of
Gallup International, conducted the private poll, sampling
approximately 2,000 Kuwaiti men. The GOK did not publicly
release the poll results. The young Shaykh further told us
that, despite his best efforts, polling data has negligible
impact on senior ruling family members.

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LEBARON