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:
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