FREEDOM AGENDA: MOST SAY WOMEN WON'T WIN, BUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KUWAIT 000085 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARPI (BERNS),NEA/PI, AND NEA/FO (WALSH) E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2016 TAGS: PHUM PINR KDEM KWMN KU FREEDOM AGENDA WOMEN'S POLITICAL RIGHTS SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA: MOST SAY WOMEN WON'T WIN, BUT KUWAIT GEARING UP FOR THEIR ROLE IN 2007 ELECTIONS REF: A. 05 KUWAIT 5285 ¶B. 05 KUWAIT 5183 ¶C. 05 KUWAIT 4993 ¶D. 05 KUWAIT 4325 ¶E. 05 KUWAIT 3178 ¶F. 05 KUWAIT 2093 Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (U) Summary: Automatic registration of female voters began in late December and the Ministry of Interior announced January 7 that almost 195,000 names have been added to the electoral rolls, doubling the number of eligible voters. Verification of voter information is underway and the registration process will last until the end of February. While there is considerable doubt that women will be elected to the National Assembly in their first attempt, efforts continue to prepare women to participate in the electoral process. The Women's Cultural and Social Society launched a lecture series on issues important to women, attracting as speakers senior Government representatives. It has also begun a four-month, standing-room-only training program for women with classes taught by professors from Kuwait University. Several female candidates are regularly featured in the local press and some women, including candidate Aisha Al-Reshaid, have crossed the gender segregation line by attending traditional, male-only diwaniyas. Regular activism has slowly begun to erode the novelty of women voting and shifted focus to issues that may impede their full participation such as campaign finance and religious restrictions. The desire remains for training and many women's rights activists have asked about the return of NDI to Kuwait as a resource in the run-up to the elections. End Summary. Registering Women to Vote Changing the Electoral Landscape -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) On December 13, the National Assembly approved a temporary amendment to the election law to facilitate the registration of female voters (ref B). The measure opened the registration process in December (voter registration normally occurs each February) and required the Public Authority for Civil Information (PCAI) to provide the Ministry of Interior (MOI) with a list of all eligible female voters using their civil identification numbers. (Note: �0A;This "automatic" registration process was welcomed by activists as a quick and efficient way to get women on the voting rolls, rather then requiring each women to register individually. End note.) During a January 7 press conference, MOI Legal Department head Khaled Al-Osaimi announced that PCAI had provided the names of 251,134 women, of which 194,614 were registered thereby doubling the size of the electorate. MOI must still verify the eligibility of the women registered and expects to remove as many as 33,000 names of naturalized Kuwaitis who have not satisfied the 20-year residency requirement for voting. The names of an additional 56,520 potential female voters will be published after the Eid Al-Adha holiday in the official gazette so that women, who for some reason were not automatically registered to vote, may confirm their eligibility. Al-Hayat newspaper predicts that by 2007, there will be 400,000 registered voters including 220,000 women. Women's Cultural Society -- More than Ladies Who Lunch -------------- -------------- ¶3. (U) Since the May 16 suffrage decision, the Women's Cultural and Social Society (WCSS),often viewed as a purely social organization for elite women, has been seized with preparations for the 2007 elections. It hosted, with UNDP support, a panel discussion featuring Deputy Speaker of Parliament Meshari Al-Anjari and Minister of Planning and Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs Dr. Masouma Al-Mubarak, on the importance of women's participation in Kuwait's growth and development. Dr. Masouma focused on the changes to the electorate once women were registered to vote and implored the audience to pay more attention to Kuwait's youth, commenting that the electorate will surge again in 2011 when Kuwait's large youth population reaches voting age. Al-Anjari criticized the amount of time it took for women to gain full political rights and asserted, "Our women are capable of doing any tough task and we must give them enough opportunities. If they can work eight hours a day, five days a week in schools, private companies, and public sector establishments, it won't be too much for them to cast a ballot just once every four years." ¶4. (U) In addition to the lecture series, WSCS launched a KUWAIT 00000085 002 OF 004 training program, with materials from UNICEF, UNIFEM, and UNDP, on developing political skills. Courses began in December and will be offered one week each month for four months. The first tranche of workshops, all taught by Kuwaitis, focused on campaign skills, developing a platform and message, and family law. In a meeting on the margins of the workshop with visiting NEA/FO Senior Advisor Erin Walsh, participants asked for training on campaign finance and management. They stressed the need for long-term instruction, commenting that the Government did all the hard work in getting the suffrage bill passed and Kuwaiti women now needed to be more energetic and aggressive in asserting their political rights. The Diwaniya -- No Longer a Gentlemen's Club -------------- ¶5. (SBU) While Kuwait is host to a few women's and co-ed diwaniyas, historically and traditionally the diwaniya is a male-only venue for discussing a range of issues from politics to pop culture (ref E). Many Kuwaitis have voiced concerns about how women could effectively run for office as most campaigning takes place at diwaniyas, but women and men are steadily breaking down the gender barrier. Ibtihal Abdel Aziz Taher, an entrepreneur and activist, told Walsh that she mustered the courage to attend a lecture hosted at the liberal Kuwait Democratic Forum (KDF) diwaniya and was surprised by how warmly she was welcomed. Later, members of the KDF recounted her visit for Walsh and said they hoped more women would visit theirs and others' diwaniyas. ¶6. (C) Journalist and parliamentary candidate Aisha Al-Reshaid has been steadily making the diwaniya rounds, attracting press attention at each stop. She told satellite channel Al-Arabiya January 7 that she was initially hesitant to visit the men's gatherings, and in preparation, recited from memory verses from the Holy Quran. Her fears were unfounded: she was well received and her visits made the press. Candidate and chairperson of the Kuwait Economic Society Rola Dashti admires Al-Reshaid's efforts, calling the diwaniya tours a shrewd campaign strategy. In her view, by attracting so much media attention and receiving as many invitations as she solicits, Al-Reshaid makes it difficult for those who oppose women's political participation to attack her, explaining by doing so, "They open themselves up to criticism." In contrast, Kuwait Times columnist Muna Al-Fuzai has criticized Al-Reshaid saying her target audiences should not be the men, rather the women and youth who will shape Kuwait's political future. Attorney and activist Dr. Badria Al-Awadi, a close friend and supporter of Dashti, agreed with Al-Fuzai and said Al-Reshaid's media campaign simply feeds her ego. Meet the Candidates -------------- ¶7. (U) In addition to Rola Dashti, who is convinced she will be elected to Parliament, and Aisha Al-Reshaid, other potential candidates include attorney Salma Al-Ajmi who said she might run for Parliament to "encourage women to fight to ensure their full political rights" and to amend housing, citizenship, and personal laws that negatively affect women and non-Kuwaitis. Kuwait University Professor Maryam Al-Kandari told the press she would run for office "if nominated by a political front which promises to organize an election campaign for me." ¶8. (C) Artist/writer/activist Thuraya Al-Baqsami told PolChief that she too was seriously considering running for Parliament in 2007. She explained that she had long had the idea, but was further inspired after having seen "Chisholm '72" at one of post's movie nights (ref C). The documentary on the former New York Congresswoman's presidential campaign helped her to realize that she did not have to be elected in order to make a difference. "I have a lot to say," and campaigning is a vehicle to share her views with a wider audience. Thuraya noted that one obstacle to running for office was campaign finance. She explained that running for office was very expensive -- notwithstanding vote-buying on election day -- because candidates must feed those who attend their rallies. She quipped, "I will serve tea and water." (Note: Thuraya is quite well off financially. End note.) ¶9. (C) Columnist Al-Fuzai, known for controversial articles on divorce, abortion, arranged marriages, and capital punishment, confided to PolChief that she had not ruled out running for office. If she decided to run, however, she would wait until the last possible moment to announce her candidacy. She believed several women who have already KUWAIT 00000085 003 OF 004 announced their intentions to run, among them Dashti and Al-Reshaid, have undermined their political aspirations. She accused them of not understanding how Kuwaiti society operates and of launching western-style campaigns. In her view, by being out in the open so early, they have made themselves targets for attack and will not be able to build a true support base. She is convinced the publicity will hurt them. In contrast, she believes her outreach to Kuwaiti youth and conservative groups will benefit her if not in 2007, then in 2011. Al-Fuzai, although she considers herself a liberal, is from a conservative, lower middle class family and says relations with her family are strained because of her views. ¶10. (SBU) One potential candidate who does enjoy popular support from both women and men as well as liberal and conservative audiences is Dr. Khadija Al-Mahmeed. An Abaya-clad Shi'a, Al-Mahmeed has the backing of the Islamic National Consensus Movement, a moderate Shiite bloc founded in 2001, and has taken training classes offered by the organization. Al-Mahmeed's platform addresses national security, educational reform with an emphasis on science and technology, environmental protection, and the rights of the bidoon (stateless Arabs). Shari'a Clause: Only Ink on Paper -------------- ¶11. (SBU) There continues to be much discussion on the clause in the election law that states women will only be able to exercise their political rights in accordance with Shari'a (ref F). Many women activists fear that the still undefined clause will be used against them in the run-up to the elections, perhaps requiring all women to wear the hijab or calling for separate polling places. Attorney Nada Al-Mutawa lamented, "they're gonna irritate us with this." Liberal MP Ali Al-Rashed recently told PolChief that he had no idea what the clause meant and considered it "ink on paper" added at the 11th hour to appease conservative elements of Parliament. He was confident it would not/not present an obstacle to women voting or running for office. The Bottom Line -------------- ¶12. (U) Many consider campaign finance to be the ultimate obstacle to women's political participation. All the potential candidates have raised concerns about fundraising and it was a theme repeated often during NEA Walsh's December visit to Kuwait. Dr. Masouma commented at the September NDI-organized and MEPI-funded regional campaign school that campaign finance would influence women's participation (ref D) and Shaykha Latifa Al-Fahd Al-Sabah, wife of Crown Prince Shaykh Saad Al-Salem Al-Sabah, suggested to the press the establishment of a fund to support female candidates, although she asserted that she personally would not contribute to it. (Note: Members of the ruling Al-Sabah family are not allowed to vote or run for office. End note.) What the U.S. Can Do -------------- ¶13. (U) Few expect that a woman will be elected to national office in 2007, but there is enthusiasm for and momentum in preparing for the elections. The March 2004 training and the September 2005 campaign school, both sponsored by NDI, were popular events and there is interest in a long-term NDI presence in Kuwait in advance of the elections. Activists have stressed, however, that the training focus should be on campaign finance/management and the training of trainers who can travel to rural, conservative areas of Kuwait to encourage the political participation of women. Potential candidates have also requested more speakers from both the U.S. and the Arab world who can talk about their experiences in running for offices. As part of our active engagement of women leaders, we are promoting Kuwaiti women as nominees to participate in relevant regional conferences and U.S.-based leadership programs, such as the Georgetown Leadership Seminar, the Yale Fellowship Program and similar professional development opportunities. Additionally, Post will continue to employ MEPI programs, movie nights, DVC exchanges, and other outreach activities to encourage and support women's political participation, but would welcome speakers and additional information on regional programs to advance this important objective of the Freedom Agenda. ********************************************* Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ KUWAIT 00000085 004 OF 004 You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website ********************************************* LeBaron