KUWAITI WOMEN IN ELECTIONS: NO WINS...YET

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000614

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KWMN SOCI KU
SUBJECT: KUWAITI WOMEN IN ELECTIONS: NO WINS...YET

REF: KUWAIT 565


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Although no women were elected in
Kuwait's recent parliamentary contests, women made a strong
showing and improved their performance compared to the 2006
elections. Participation among women voters increased from
the previous election and many observers believe Kuwait is on
track to see its first female MP in the next election. The
shortened campaign season due to snap-elections disadvantaged
many of the inexperienced and unknown candidates while the
new five constituency system created particular obstacles for
women candidates. Women activists are learning valuable
lessons from their experiences, and have begun to take
practical steps to better organize their efforts and broaden
their outreach. END SUMMARY.

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INCREASED PARTICIPATION AND PROGRESS
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2. (SBU) Despite not winning any seats in the May 17
parliamentary elections, Kuwaiti women had a strong showing
and most Kuwaitis - male and female - agree that women are
making progress as viable candidates for future elections.
As in 2006, the first time women were permitted to run, there
were 27 female candidates vying for the 50 seats in
Parliament. The two female candidates with the most votes,
Dr. Aseel Al-Awadi and Dr. Rola Dashti, came in eleventh and
twelfth in their district respectively, coming very close to
winning seats (Note: The top ten vote-getters in each
district are elected) . Despite running under the new five
constituency system, which many said would make it more
difficult for a woman to win (Ref A),women came closer to
winning than in the last election. Female turnout in this
election also increased to 50 percent from 44 percent in

2006. With this pattern of increased participation and
improved performance, many observers predict that Kuwait will
see its first female MP in the next election cycle.

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HURDLES TO OVERCOME
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3. (SBU) Largely inexperienced and relatively unknown women
candidates were disadvantaged by shortened campaign periods
(60 days) in both 2006 and 2008, the result of snap elections
in each case. The 2008 election season was cut even shorter
due to the death of the former Amir Shaykh Saad Al Sabah
three days prior to election day (reftel). The largely
inexperienced women candidates were frustrated with the
condensed elections season and the inability to properly plan
and carry out an election campaign.


4. (SBU) In addition, the new electoral system reducing 25
constituencies down to five, likely impacted women's chances
more than their male counterparts. Traditional campaigns in
Kuwait involve "election tents" in which candidates hold
rallies, give speeches and meet with supporters. Candidates
also visit diwaniyas (traditional men's gatherings held in
the evenings) in their area to gain support and votes. Due
to the tremendous increase in the number of constituents per
district, traditional methods of campaigning made reaching a
broader range of people more difficult. Previously a
candidate would have to visit anywhere from 200 - 300
diwaniyas in his/her area; under the new system, a district
could contain anywhere from 2000 - 3000 diwaniyas. Because
diwaniyas are traditionally strictly male gatherings, women
candidates were at a disadvantage in their ability to reach
their constituents in this manner.


5. (SBU) Lack of unity, organization and strategy among the
women candidates also negatively impacted their chances of
success. There was little coordinated effort between any of
the women candidates either in 2006 or 2008. However, three
prominent women's activists launched the first women's
political association on March 6, 2008, just 13 days before
the dissolution of Parliament. The intention of Nouriya
Al-Saddani, Khawla Al-Ateeqi and Dr. Khadija Al-Mahmeed was
to unify women's political efforts and increase their
participation in decision-making and leadership roles in the
country. When the group, called Tanami ("growth" in Arabic),
originally launched in March, the plan was to simply launch
the idea of a women's political association and take the rest
of the year to consult with various civil society and women's
groups to formulate the best way forward and not officially
launch the group until the end of 2008. However, with the
dissolution of Parliament their plans were accelerated and
Tanami held numerous seminars and training courses (largely
with the assistance of NDI) for some of the candidates.
Post-election, many of the female candidates criticized

KUWAIT 00000614 002 OF 002


Tanami for supporting only certain candidates, including some
men, and not all 27 women equally.

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WOMEN TO WATCH
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6. (SBU) Dr. Aseel Al-Awadi, the female candidate who
received the most votes (5,173),was a newcomer to this
election and politics in general. She was the only female
candidate to run on an organized ticket with two male
candidates. Although she was virtually unknown on the
political scene, many observers credit her success to her
ability to appeal to broad range of voters. Dr. Rola Dashti,
the female candidate who won the most votes in the 2006
election, placed second (4,464 votes). According to Dashti,
48 hours prior to election day, she was the victim of a
"smear campaign" in which she suspects one of her
liberal/independent opponents of surfacing a photograph of
her with Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah taken in 2000
following Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon and claiming it
was recent and that Hizbollah had financed her current
campaign. She is investigating the incident and said she
intends to take legal action against the instigators of the
negative campaigning. Dashti suggested voting numbers would
show collusion among the Islamists/Salafists in her District

3. Dr. Salwa Al-Jassar, also a newcomer, came in third
highest for female candidates (2,215 votes) and Dr. Fatima
Abdally, a candidate in 2006, came in fourth (2,184 votes).

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LOOKING AHEAD: THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM?
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7. (SBU) Many Kuwaiti observers, particularly women
activists themselves, believe that a woman will be elected in
the next parliamentary election. If the current Parliament
serves its full four-year term, women will have the
opportunity to better plan and prepare their campaigns.
Two-time candidate Dr. Rola Dashti told Poloff that there has
been a palpable change in ideas and attitudes regarding women
running for office in the two years since the last election.
She said that many more women are supportive of the idea and
that it will simply take a little more time for this change
to translate into actual votes. Given time to better
organize, groups like Tanami could play an important role in
unifying women's political efforts and creating a strategy
for success. Although no woman was elected in this round,
Kuwaiti women will likely continue to be outspoken and active
in politics in non-elected capacities as they wait for their
next opportunity to run for office.

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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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JONES