FREEDOM AGENDA: KUWAITI WOMEN NOT REPRESENTED IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 002600 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM KWMN KU FREEDOM AGENDA SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA: KUWAITI WOMEN NOT REPRESENTED IN PARLIAMENT, BUT PROVE THEY ARE A POLITICAL FORCE Sensitive but unclassified. Not for internet distribution. ¶1. (SBU) Summary and comment: Kuwaiti women voted and ran for office for the first time on June 29. While initial reports indicate only 35% of registered women voted, EmbOffs who visited polling stations saw crowds of women taking part in the electoral process in both urban and tribal areas. Women's polling stations, in contrast to the men's, were quite festive and campaign workers offered refreshments and snacks to voters. The campaign volunteers, many of whom were too young to vote, at times outnumbered the voters. Women were enthusiastic about the experience and proud of their enhanced role in Kuwaiti society. They were pleased with the GOK's management of the balloting, reporting the process was well organized and clear. While no woman was elected to Parliament, their participation proved their interest in politics and willingness to take part in the process. End summary and comment. Proud to Participate -------------- ¶2. (U) On June 29, Kuwait held general elections for its 50-member Parliament. The elections were the first time in Kuwait's history that women participated both as voters and candidates and the run-up to the elections was dominated by talk of corruption and the need for political reform, issues brought to the fore by youth and women activists. EmbOffs visited several of the 91 polling stations (45 for men and 46 for women) and were present for both the opening and the closing of the polls. There was no evidence of tampering and women's stations had a celebratory air with campaign committees offering food and beverages to voters, journalists, and the curious. The first-time women voters described the process as clear and easy and expressed their joy and pride at the opportunity to have their voices heard. One Final Protest -------------- ¶2. (U) Polling got off to a raucous start with an anti-corruption protest organized by the "orange movement." 200 young people gathered in front of the Jabriya police station where they screened a film, taken by a cell phone camera, allegedly depicting candidate Jamal Al-Omar buying votes. Wearing yellow danger signs that read, "My god, it's a shame...Kuwait is not for sale," the young people called on Ministry of Interior officials to intervene. Police officers, clearly surprised by the rally, pleaded for the crowd to disburse arguing that they were impeding the traffic flow. After talking to journalists, who dubbed the protest "Cheques, Lies and Videotape," and appealing to onlookers to vote for a change, the crowd disbursed and security officials resumed preparing for the morning's elections. By late evening, all polling stations had been set up with police cars blocking entries and exits and officers posted in front of the doors. An Early Start in Tribal Areas -------------- ¶3. (U) Early on June 29, EmbOffs arrived at a polling station in Ahmadi, a tribal area home to the headquarters of Kuwait Oil Company, and found 20 abaya and hijab-clad women patiently waiting for the site to open. Five minutes after entering the station, they emerged, grinning broadly, and praising the GOK for a clear and easy process. As they departed, a stream of women of all ages, with some of the elderly in wheelchairs, steadily arrived. All of the women said they voted for candidates representing their same tribe. ¶4. (U) In nearby Dahiat Sabah Al-Salem, female candidate Leila Al-Reshaid had a campaign bus outside the polling station. Inside, ten of her staff had a laptop where they could confirm voter registration information, and were prepared to explain to women how to cast their votes. The only female candidate in the Bedouin district, Al-Reshaid did surprisingly well garnering 509 votes and coming in fourth out of six candidates. Celebrating Women's Rights -------------- ¶5. (U) In Farwaniya, a conservative Bedouin area on the outskirts of Kuwait city, 500 women had already voted by 10:00 AM. The street in front of the school had been closed and a fair-like setting emerged. Children dressed in sequined costumes passed out campaign literature, campaign staff passed out buttons and bottled water and offered last minute instructions on how to vote while the men looked on in KUWAIT 00002600 002 OF 002 utter amazement. Likewise in Bedouin Jeleeb Al-Shuwaikh, women were also celebrating their new political rights. EmbOffs were practically accosted by campaign volunteers who wanted to know if they had voted. Before a banner of late Amir Jaber, supporters of various candidates offered tea, Arabic coffee, dates, and sweets to voters regardless of political affiliation. They told LES PolAsst that while they hoped women would vote for their candidate, they were offering refreshments to all in celebration of Kuwaiti women and their new rights. ¶6. (SBU) In comparison to the tribal areas, the environment of the women's polling stations in urban areas was frenzied and the excitement infectious. In Surra and Jabriya, areas of district 10 where six women were running for office, traffic slowed to a crawl as mostly female campaign volunteers in 120-degree heat wove in and out of cars passing out roses, campaign flyers, and water. When asked if they had voted, many of the workers said they were not yet 21 and looked forward to 2010 when they would be of age. Parking lots were full as women waited for a chance to vote and chatted with friends after they cast their ballots. In Shamiya, the district of former chairman of Parliament's foreign relations committee Mohammed Jassem Al-Sager and former Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi (both were re-elected),streamers and flags decorated the neighborhood and voters and visitors were treated to ice cream, shwarmas, and frappucinos courtesy of one of the Khorafi family companies. Al-Sager told PolOffs that as of 7:00PM, 63% of the women in the district had voted. In upscale Dahiat Abdullah Al-Salem, volunteers were ferrying voters in golf carts from parking lots to the polling station. Groups of campaign workers sang and posed for pictures, children played games, and women cheered and hugged when the polls closed at 8:00 PM. Moudhi Al-Sager, a member of the Women's Cultural and Social Society, said she had voted early in the morning and spent the day as an official observer touring various sites. She reported no irregularities and was moved by the many women voting. June 29: A New National Day -------------- ¶7. (SBU) By 10:00 PM, election results, broadcast live on local TV, were starting to trickle in and campaign tents and signs were being dismantled. No woman was elected and in areas where several were running, the vote was split among them. (Note: In district 10, Rola Dashti led the women with 1550 votes and coming in fifth. She was followed by Nabila Al-Anjari who won 1054 votes and was in seventh place. Attorney Hind Ben Al-Shaikh was in twelfth place with 198 votes. The remaining three women candidates each earned 50 or fewer votes. End note.) Nonetheless, the day's enthusiasm has not begun to wane. Columnist and activist Dr. Samar Al-Roumi, who a week ago doubted women would even bother to go to the polls, said she was impressed by the number of women who voted and called June 29 a "new national day in Kuwait's history." Moudhi Al-Sager recounted that her daughter had a less eloquent, but sure-fire way to remember the day, which elicited muffled laughs from veiled women when she repeated the statement: "I lost my political virginity." ********************************************* * 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/ ********************************************* * TUELLER