NOMINATION OF MA'ASOUMA AL-MUBARAK FOR

UNCLAS KUWAIT 000220

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PI, G/IWI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KWMN KHUM KU WOMEN POLITICAL RIGHTS
SUBJECT: NOMINATION OF MA'ASOUMA AL-MUBARAK FOR
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN OF COURAGE AWARD

REF: A. STATE 12871


B. KUWAIT 86


1. (U) Post nominates Dr. Ma'asouma Al-Mubarak, Minister of
Communications, for the International Woman of Courage Award.


2. (U) Dr. Ma'asouma became the first woman in Kuwait's
history to be appointed to the cabinet when she was named
Minister of Planning and Minister of State for Administrative
and Development Affairs in June 2005. In a July 2006 cabinet
reshuffle she became Minister of Communications. During the
first parliamentary session she attended as a minister (all
ministers are ex officio members of parliament),Dr.
Ma'asouma calmly endured a chorus of loud protests from the
chamber. It is a testament to her courage and competence
that less than two years later her presence in the cabinet
has become widely accepted. The skill with which she manages
her current portfolio and with which she managed her original
portfolio in the Ministry of Planning have served as clear
evidence to Kuwaitis that a qualified woman can serve
effectively as a minister. If Dr. Ma'asouma had used her
ministerial posts as a bully pulpit to talk about women's
issues, it might have given women's rights opponents an
excuse to say that appointing a woman is a distraction. But
while Dr. Ma'asouma does not shy away from addressing the
issues still facing women in Kuwait, she devotes more
attention to the issues relating to her ministerial position.
The image of a competent minister handling her portfolio
with dignity in the face of significant societal opposition
will be a model for other Kuwaiti women to follow in years to
come.


3. (U) Dr. Ma'asouma comes from a humble background. Her
father was a tailor and a pearl diver (pearl diving was one
of Kuwait's main industries before the discover of oil). Yet
she went on to earn a Ph.D. in International Relations from
the University of Denver in 1982. She has taught political
science at the University of Denver, the University of
Bahrain, and Kuwait University. She is a long-time advocate
for women's rights, participating in numerous NGOs and
writing frequently in many newspapers. Before women won the
right to vote in 2005, Dr. Ma'asouma was one of a group of
Kuwaiti women activists who had annually attempted to
register their names on voting roles in protest of female
disenfranchisement.


4. (U) Dr. Ma'asouma Al-Mubarak's contact information:

Name: Dr. Ma'asouma Al-Mubarak
Title: Minister
Institution: Ministry of Communications
DOB: unknown, born approximately 1949
Phone: 965 924-6222(mobile) or 965 665-4764(mobile),965
552-3305 (home)
Email: drmalmubarak@yahoo.com


5. (U) Post point of contact for women's issues is
Political Officer Mark Rosenshield (RosenshieldMS@state.gov).

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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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