Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KUWAIT3939
2006-10-02 14:42:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:  

FREEDOM AGENDA: WOMEN ACTIVISTS CALL FOR "ONE

Tags:  PGOV KDEM KWMN KU FREEDOM AGENDA 
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VZCZCXRO6803
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKU #3939/01 2751442
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021442Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6997
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 003939 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PI; LONDON FOR TSOU; AND PARIS FOR WALLER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KWMN KU FREEDOM AGENDA
SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA: WOMEN ACTIVISTS CALL FOR "ONE
VOICE AND ONE HEART" AND A TEN-SEAT QUOTA IN PARLIAMENT

REF: A. KUWAIT 2393 -- WOMEN'S ELECTION PARTICIPATION

BREAKING TABOOS

B. KUWAIT 2821 -- FREEDOM AGENDA: CABINET APPROVES
FIVE CONSTITUENCY PROPOSAL

C. 05 KUWAIT 2931 -- PDAS CHENEY IN KUWAIT: WOMEN'S
POLITICAL RIGHTS

D. 05 KUWAIT 2674 -- AMBASSADOR CALLS ON FIRST
WOMEN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL MEMBERS

E. 05 KUWAIT 2093 -- "MABROUK:" KUWAITI WOMEN GAIN
POLITICAL RIGHTS YET PONDER THEIR
PARTICIPATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 003939

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PI; LONDON FOR TSOU; AND PARIS FOR WALLER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KWMN KU FREEDOM AGENDA
SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA: WOMEN ACTIVISTS CALL FOR "ONE
VOICE AND ONE HEART" AND A TEN-SEAT QUOTA IN PARLIAMENT

REF: A. KUWAIT 2393 -- WOMEN'S ELECTION PARTICIPATION

BREAKING TABOOS

B. KUWAIT 2821 -- FREEDOM AGENDA: CABINET APPROVES
FIVE CONSTITUENCY PROPOSAL

C. 05 KUWAIT 2931 -- PDAS CHENEY IN KUWAIT: WOMEN'S
POLITICAL RIGHTS

D. 05 KUWAIT 2674 -- AMBASSADOR CALLS ON FIRST
WOMEN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL MEMBERS

E. 05 KUWAIT 2093 -- "MABROUK:" KUWAITI WOMEN GAIN
POLITICAL RIGHTS YET PONDER THEIR
PARTICIPATION


1. (SBU) Summary: A group of prominent Kuwaiti women
political activists, academics, and former candidates for
Parliament have launched a public campaign to establish a
quota for the number of parliamentary seats to be held by
women. They have lobbied the Amir, the Prime Minister, and
First Deputy Prime Minister/Interior Minister/Defense
Minister during Ramadan calls; held workshops on the issue;
and taken the matter to the press. The group applauded the
impact women had on the June 29 elections, but lamented that
tribal politics and Kuwaiti social customs were barriers to
the election of women. They argued if quotas were necessary
in Morocco, Jordan, and Lebanon, countries they consider to
be more open, they were mandatory in Kuwait. At a September
29 gathering, the women activists agreed that any quota
should be a temporary measure, but reached no consensus on
its proposed implementation: by Amiri decree or through an
amendment to the election law. In addition to guaranteed
representation in Parliament, the women called for the
appointment of more female ministers and greater
representation by women at senior levels of government. They
were unanimous, however, that no amendments be made to the
constitution, fearing such a move would open the door to
changes sought by Islamist groups such as making Shari'a the
primary source for legislation instead of a main source.
Former parliamentary candidate Aisha Al-Reshaid further
called on the need for greater unity among Kuwaiti women.
Comparing Kuwaiti women to the Bahraini, she said the latter
were better able to overcome political and class differences
to work for a common cause. Despite the attention given to

quotas, public opinion remains divided. A corps of Kuwait's
women and democratic activists consider a quota system to be
a tool used by developing nations and nascent democracies and
fear such a mechanism in Kuwait would lead to calls for a set
number of parliamentary seats for the Shi'a, tribal elements,
and other groups. End Summary.

A Call for Quotas
--------------


2. (SBU) Following appeals on establishing a parliamentary
quota for women's representation made to the Amir, the Prime
Minister, and First Deputy Prime Minister/Interior
Minister/Defense Minister during Ramadan calls, journalist
and former candidate for Parliament Aisha Al-Reshaid hosted
September 29 a Ramadan Ghabqa (late evening dinner) for women
political activists and candidates, lawyers, and academics on
the topic. Breaking with tradition, instead of simply
offering a meal, Al-Reshaid required attendees to sing for
their suppers, offering their views on the quota system and
strategies to achieve equal representation in government.
Al-Reshaid and Khalida Al-Khidhar, who ran for a seat in both
the April 2006 Municipal Council by-elections and the June
2006 parliamentary elections, asserted that Kuwaiti women did
well in their first electoral experience, but the outcome
made clear that tribal politics and wasta (connections)
limited the political advancement of women. They compared
Kuwait to Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco, societies they
consider more open than Kuwait, and said if quotas were
needed there, Kuwaiti women had no chance unless National
Assembly seats were set aside. Longtime activist Fatima
Al-Hussein, mother of academic and activist Nada Al-Mutawa,
said Kuwaiti men were at the top of the mountain and women
were still standing in a hole; intervention to get women into
Parliament was a must.

A Temporary Fix
--------------


3. (SBU) The gathered women, among them parliamentary
candidate Dr. Fatima Al-Abdaly, attorney Najla Al-Naki,
activist Dr. Suad Al-Trarwah, and appointed Municipal Council
member Fatima Al-Sabah, agreed that any quota should be a
temporary measure only. Al-Abdaly asserted that a quota had
been applied to limit women's admittance to the colleges of
engineering and medicine and it was time for a quota system
to promote their admittance to Parliament. Regularly citing
the CEDAW and pointing to Egypt as an example, Al-Abdaly also

KUWAIT 00003939 002 OF 003


asserted UN support for quotas on a temporary basis. The
activists are convinced that women, once given a chance, will
prove their worth and be able to compete equally against men.
They were not willing, however, to wait another 42 years and
proffered a variety of strategies for ensuring female
representation in the National Assembly: a requirement that
one of the 10 MPs from each of the five electoral districts
be a woman; that 25% of all candidates per district be women;
or that when tallying votes, one in three of the winners be a
woman. In addition to parliamentary representation, the
women said that one female minister was insufficient. They
called for the appointment of more women as ministers and
undersecretaries. Al-Hussein commented to much applause that
a home needs both a husband and a wife to run smoothly and
the Kuwaiti nation is just a big house.

But Don't Touch the Constitution
--------------


4. (SBU) Despite the call for amendments to the elections
law or an Amiri decree to establish a parliamentary quota for
representation by women, all were adamant that the
constitution should not be amended. Although they said the
constitution was not perfect and complained that language
referring to electoral districts in the plural prevented the
creation of a single electoral constituency, they feared any
constitutional amendment would pave the way for Islamists to
press for Shari'a as "the source" over current wording that
calls Shari'a "a main source for legislation" (ref D).


5. (SBU) Nonetheless, there was no consensus on the best
way to achieve the quota. Some called for an Amiri decree,
saying such a move would signal Government support for
women's full political participation. Other suggested the
Amir be able to appoint women to Parliament in the same way
two women were appointed to the Municipal Council (ref F).
Such a move would guarantee a liberal, female presence in the
National Assembly to counter women from Islamist
organizations who are better organized and expected to be the
first women elected to Parliament, they argued. (Note:
Amiri decrees require ratification by 2/3 of the National
Assembly, a fact some of the women did not know. The Kuwaiti
constitution requires that MPs be popularly elected, not
appointed. End note.) Al-Abdaly and some of the lawyers
gathered advocated changes to the elections law, the same
vehicle that gave women the right to vote and run for office
in 2005 (ref G). They believe that Parliament, when it
reconvenes in late October, will consider amendments to the
law, including lowering the voting age to 18 and permitting
those in the security forces to vote, and want any changes
affecting women to be considered at the same time. They do
not want women's representation in the National Assembly to
be identified as a separate issue. They further called for
swift action, speculating that the current National Assembly
will not last long and that its dissolution could come as
early as March 2007.

All for One and One for All!
--------------


6. (SBU) Al-Reshaid welcomed the suggestions and support
for a quota, but chided the women for their lack of unity.
In addition to Kuwait's political and social culture, she
blamed competition among women for the failure of any woman
to be elected in June. She commented that she recently
traveled to Bahrain to meet with candidates in the upcoming
elections and was impressed by their unity as women. She
shared with her guests reported Bahraini shock at the discord
among Kuwaiti women and challenged them to reach across
economic and religious barriers to work for one shared goal,
saying Kuwaiti women needed "one voice and one heart." Only
by working together could women make the thousands of
diwaniya (traditional discussion salons) visits to build
political and financial support for a campaign. She also
encouraged them to become active in the Women's Network, a
recently formed organization to advance the political,
social, and economic participation of women. (Note:
Al-Abdaly is the Secretary-General of the Women's Network
which also includes Dr. Rola Dashti, the top woman
vote-getter in the 2006 elections. The Network is a Post
MEPI-partner and offered to host the Gulf branch of the Arab
Women's Legal Network. End note.)


7. (SBU) Despite increased discussion of a quota system,
the measure does not yet enjoy broad popular support. Many
of those now in favor of a quota previously opposed it.
Additionally, many Kuwaiti men and women consider quotas to
be "undemocratic" and a tool used only by developing nations.
Members of the Women's Cultural and Social Society, which

KUWAIT 00003939 003 OF 003


waged a successful voter information campaign during the
elections, consider a quota system discrimination against men
and called for MPs to be selected based on their
qualifications and not their genders. Still others worry
that implementation of a quota system for women would lead to
a call for quotas for Shi'a politicians, tribal candidates,
and other groupings, resulting in the eventual erosion of the
legislative body.

********************************************* *
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/
********************************************* *
LeBaron