Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KUWAIT2392
2006-06-19 13:49:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:  

FREEDOM AGENDA: WOMEN'S ELECTION PARTICIPATION

Tags:  PGOV KWMN KDEM KU FREEDOM AGENDA 
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VZCZCXRO3437
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKU #2392/01 1701349
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 191349Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5273
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KUWAIT 002392 

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2016
TAGS: PGOV KWMN KDEM KU FREEDOM AGENDA
SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA: WOMEN'S ELECTION PARTICIPATION
BREAKING TABOOS, SHAPING ISSUES, AND CHANGING THE STATUS QUO

REF: KUWAIT 2271 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Matthew H. Tueller
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KUWAIT 002392

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2016
TAGS: PGOV KWMN KDEM KU FREEDOM AGENDA
SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA: WOMEN'S ELECTION PARTICIPATION
BREAKING TABOOS, SHAPING ISSUES, AND CHANGING THE STATUS QUO

REF: KUWAIT 2271 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Matthew H. Tueller
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C/NF) Summary and comment: The participation of women in
the June 29 parliamentary elections is having a profound
impact on Kuwaiti society. Issues of equality and social
import have taken a prominent place in the local media, and
candidates have been forced to address issues important to
women such as health and education. Candidates have also
made special arrangements to allow female candidates to
attend their campaign rallies and seminars. The conservative
backlash that might be expected from such a major change has
been minimal. Some male candidates still do not take women
seriously, especially in this first election where it is
likely that women will support conservative candidates. The
changes that are taking place, however, will irreversibly
change Kuwaiti society to give women a greater voice. End
summary and comment.

Breaking Social Taboos
--------------


2. (SBU/NF) Women's participation, both as voters and
candidates, in the June 29 parliamentary elections is having
a profound effect on Kuwait and breaking many conservative
social taboos in the process. Thousands of women are
enthusiastically attending the campaign rallies of both male
and female candidates. At many campaign tents in Kuwait
City, male and female voters mingle freely; others have
partitions or separate tents for female voters, who can watch
male candidates address men via closed-circuit television.
In more rural, tribal constituencies (reftel),candidates
have held separate rallies for female voters since, as one
supporter of a tribal candidate told PolOff, it would be
impossible for women to mingle with men as they do in urban
areas.


3. (SBU/NF) The campaign headquarters of female candidates
have been swarmed by supporters not only from their districts
but from every area in Kuwait. Candidate Dr. Rola Dashti, a
U.S. educated economist, estimated that a mixed crowd of more

than 3,000 people attended her opening rally. Exemplifying
increasing political activism and the profound social changes
underway, a middle-aged man urged his sheepish brother to
approach outspoken candidate Aisha Al-Reshaid at her campaign
tent. The brother admitted that he had been reticent to
visit her tent because of what he had heard about her. But
he said seeing her in person gave him a completely different
impression and he thanked her for her efforts and wished her
the best in the elections. "It is time to change," he said
simply. Al-Reshaid told him not to believe everything he
heard in the press and, clearly basking in the limelight,
winked at PolOffs sitting next to her in triumph of a small
victory won.

Nightlife, Kuwaiti Style
--------------


4. (C/NF) Women are also participating actively in campaign
activities. Male candidates from all political leanings have
established "women's committees" to campaign on their behalf
with female voters in their district. Some women have even
complained about the number of calls they have received from
female campaigners. Retired diplomat and GOK critic Mohammed
Al-Qadiri told PolOff his home phone has been ringing
non-stop with calls for his wife and two of his daughters.
He is not receiving any calls because he failed to update his
residency information after a move to a new neighborhood.
Because women were automatically registered to vote following
the change in the voting law, updated contact information for
his wife and daughters is available to candidates. Abdul
Hussein Al-Sultan, the Secretary General of a Shi'a political
association and a campaign advisor to several Shi'a
candidates, told PolOff that a 1 AM strategy meeting with one
Shi'a candidate was attended by a number of women who joked
about their husbands waiting at home for them while they
debated campaign strategies and political issues. One
liberal candidate even had female campaign workers in
short-sleeve shirts directing men and women to available
seats as they arrived at his campaign rally.


5. (SBU/NF) Political Scientist Dr. Nada Al-Mutawa recounted
to EmbOffs that she was at a rally and overheard an elderly
woman tell her daughter she was not ready to return home and
wanted to visit the campaign tents of other candidates. The
tired daughter reluctantly spoke to other women, identified
the nearby headquarters of other candidates, and dutifully

KUWAIT 00002392 002 OF 004


escorted her mother to other tents. Al-Mutawa explained this
exchange was not unique. Many older women are enjoying the
late night election activities and opportunities to stay out
late, something they only do when attending women-only
weddings.

The Fatwa's in Your Court
--------------


6. (C/NF) These developments have not been met with
universal approval, particularly among Islamists. The Dean
of the Faculty of Sharia at Kuwait University, Dr. Mohammed
Al-Tabtabaei, caused considerable controversy when he issued
a "fatwa" recently stating that "a divorce claimed by a
husband on the grounds that his wife did not vote according
to his preference will be valid." The Ministry of Awqaf's
Al-Ifta and Islamic Research Sector issued a counter fatwa,
which reportedly invalidates Al-Tabtabaei's fatwa, ruling
that "no one can force any citizen, either male or female, to
vote for any specific candidate." Al-Mutawa claimed the
press exaggerated the reaction to the alleged fatwa, but
PolChief met with a group of women activists the day of the
announcement and they were clearly worried the proclamation
would keep Shi'a women away from the polls and encouraged
religious scholars to speak out against Al-Tabtabaei.


7. (U) In addition, several of Al-Reshaid's campaign posters
were vandalized. Four "Islamist activists," whom Al-Reshaid
claimed belonged to "an Islamist group opposed to women's
political rights," were arrested for vandalizing the posters,
the English daily Arab Times reported June 14. Asked about
the vandalism, Al-Reshaid shrugged it off with a smile,
seemingly relishing the firestorm of criticism she elicits
from conservative Islamists. Posters for a few other
candidates, including one man, have also been defaced, but
the acts have not attracted the attention that the vandalism
of Al-Reshaid's has, in part because Al-Reshaid is running in
a extremely conservative district against an outspoken former
Islamist MP.

Shaping the Issues
--------------


8. (C/NF) The participation of women is also shaping the
issues and rhetoric of these elections. Local media have
devoted extensive coverage to women's participation and
candidates' positions on women's issues and political
participation. Female voters are asking tough, intelligent
questions with a focus on social issues such as education,
health care, and discriminatory personal status laws.
Several female candidates, like former Assistant
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information for Tourism
Nabila Al-Omari and MEPI program alumna Hind Ben Al-Shaikh,
are campaigning primarily on these issues. Al-Mutawa and Dr.
Samar Al-Roumi, a professor and columnist, explained that not
only are women deeply interested in the issues, but because
women traditionally do not attend diwaniyas and regularly
interact with the male candidates, they view the campaign
tents as their one and only opportunity to ask tough
questions, dismissing the deferential treatment usually given
to former MPs. A highly-placed advisor to one male candidate
concurred, saying that women were more issues-oriented than
men, since they had fewer personal connections to the
candidates. Women are also calling to task many Islamist
candidates running for re-election for voting against women's
suffrage legislation in 2005, a trend encouraged by liberal
candidates and women's activists who advocate not voting for
anyone who voted against women's suffrage.


9. (C/NF) Many political activists and liberal politicians
are encouraging women to exercise their newly-acquired
political rights. In a women's diwaniya he hosted in
February, Ali Al-Rashid, a liberal MP who headed the
recently-dissolved Parliament's Human Rights Defense
Committee and tried in vain to get Oprah Winfrey to attend a
conference he organized, urged women not only to vote, but to
bring up the issues they care about and to force
parliamentary candidates to address these issues. He went
beyond the normal rhetoric of campaigners who talk about
women's votes having an effect on "women's" issues such as
health, education, and personal status laws, saying women
could be the engine for reform in Kuwaiti society as a whole.


Get Out the Vote
--------------


10. (SBU/NF) Focusing on the broader reform issue and the
potential impact of women on the political scene, several

KUWAIT 00002392 003 OF 004


candidates are concurrently involved in voter education and
awareness programs. Candidate Al-Anjari told PolOff that she
intends to launch o/a June 20 a women's electoral empowerment
campaign through the media. She proudly pointed to a purple
ribbon on her lapel which she said symbolized her "Women of
Kuwait Are Gonna Vote" campaign. This campaign, separate
from her own electoral bid, is designed to spur women to vote
and thereby confirm their importance to the political system.
For example, the campaign will encourage women who live in
districts where there is no candidate they support to go to
the polls and file empty ballots. Likewise, with general
guidance and encouragement from the MEPI-funded National
Democratic Institute, the Women's Social and Cultural Society
(WSCS) is launching a voter education campaign using print
and broadcast media and advertisements on the back of buses.
The message chosen by the Society depicts a partial view of a
young woman with a piece of tape across her mouth and the tag
line, "For your voice to rise, use your right." UNDP
contributed to the campaign and WSCS secured free air time
from local TV and radio stations. Additionally, the owner of
74 plasma TVs located in 15 malls agreed to run for free the
public service announcements every 20 minutes throughout for
a total of 27,972 airings during the campaign period. (Note:
Septel will address the role of MEPI-funded programs in the
parliamentary elections. End note.)


11. (U) Other local businesses have also stepped forward in
support of women's rights. The newly established Jazeera
Airlines, Kuwait's first private airline, announced it would
offer free flights to Kuwaiti women who wanted to come to
Kuwait to vote in the June 29 elections. CEO Marwan Boodai
told the press, "We want to ensure that as many women as
possible have the available access to return to Kuwait to
vote in these historic elections as part of Jazeera Airways'
national social responsibility program." He also extended
the free invitation to "women of every nationality to fly
Jazeera Airways to Kuwait and observe the historic
elections." Jazeera flies to Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria,
Bahrain, and Dubai. In addition, candidates in some
districts are reportedly offering to provide transportation
to polling stations to women who want to vote.


12. (U) While most members of the ruling family have shied
away from comments on the elections, poet Dr. Maymouna
Al-Sabah has attended the rallies of several female
candidates and penned an op-ed encouraging women to vote
noting, "...their mere participation in this election is a
victory to all women in Kuwait." Other Al-Sabah women
lamented to PolChief that members of the ruling family do not
vote, commenting they would be proud to join their sisters at
the polls.

A Slow Process
--------------


13. (C/NF) In this conservative, male-dominated society, the
significance of these changes should not be underestimated.
Nonetheless, there is still a long way to go. Most contacts
agree that the majority of women will vote on the advice of
their male relatives. Supporting this view, 76% of those
responding to a recent poll conducted by the private
television channel Al-Rai said they believed "men have an
influence on a woman's vote." Even a liberal contact told
PolOff his sister asked him recently, "Who are we voting
for?" There are a number of reasons why women are likely to
rely on their male relatives' advice when voting:
conservative social values, lack of information about the
issues and candidates, and a tendency for families to vote as
a bloc. It is also unlikely that a female candidate will be
elected due to the short campaign period and the fact that
female candidates are not known personally to most voters,
whereas many male candidates have spent years visiting
diwaniyas and developing a strong base of support.


14. (C/NF) For these reasons, some candidates downplay the
significance of women's participation in these elections.
One tribal candidate told PolOff he was relying on men to
reach female voters. Jamal Al-Omar, a pro-Government
candidate running for re-election, told PolOff he had held a
separate meeting for women, but was unable to cite any
specifics as to how his message to them had differed from his
message to male voters. Instead, he said somewhat
patronizingly that he explained the history and process of
voting to the women. Several other male candidates or their
campaign managers have been similarly unable to explain why
they believe women will vote for them, suggesting some
candidates do not view female voters as a unique constituency
with unique concerns. It will be interesting to see if in
four years candidates can be as dismissive of women's

KUWAIT 00002392 004 OF 004


concerns when they have to defend their record in the
National Assembly on issues important to women.


15. (C/NF) It is also likely that women's participation in
these elections will benefit Islamist candidates. Islamists
are well organized and well funded, and have a strong
conservative base whose female members are expected to vote
for male Islamist candidates. In addition, women in
conservative families are more likely to follow the lead of
their male relatives when voting than those from more liberal
backgrounds. Women's participation is also likely to have
only a marginal impact in tribal constituencies, where only
male members of the tribe are allowed to participate in
primaries to choose candidates to represent the tribe in the
elections. Since primaries are illegal in Kuwait -- a law
seldom enforced by the Government -- there are no regulations
requiring tribes to allow female members to participate in
the primaries. Both the men and women from the tribe are
expected to vote for the candidates chosen in these
primaries, one tribal supporter told PolOffs. Thus, female
voter turnout is likely to be high in tribal areas, but their
vote will almost certainly be pre-determined.

A Lasting Impact
--------------


16. (C/NF) Despite these concerns, women's participation in
these elections is making a significant difference and is
laying the groundwork for women's full integration into
Kuwait's political system. In addition to the short-term
impact on these elections, women's participation is likely to
have a significant long-term impact, particularly in shaping
legislative priorities over the next four years and in
enhancing the standing and legitimacy of the National
Assembly. Now that more than half of the electorate is
female, MPs are likely to focus more on issues of social
equality than in previous Parliaments. Ironically, the
failure of female candidates could also lead to the adoption
of a quota system, in which a specific number of seats in
Parliament are allocated to women, as has been proposed by
some activists. Women's participation is also likely to lead
to a gradual shift in social attitudes, as women's attendance
at traditionally male-only diwaniyas and other gatherings
where politics are discussed becomes more acceptable. One
woman told PolChief that she is now discussing politics with
her husband for the first time and he sought her opinions on
the credentials of both the male and female candidates. Such
changes, which will not be measurable in the results of June
29 elections, may prove to have the biggest effect on women's
issues in Kuwait. Finally, there is still a possibility that
the new Parliament will vote to reduce the number of
electoral districts in Kuwait. This would give women a
further boost since redistricting will enhance the role of
emerging political parties and force candidates to rely more
on political platforms and less on the leverage of personal
and family connections.

********************************************* *
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s

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