Women breathe life into Kuwati politics

Women breathe life into Kuwait politics
Hassan M Fattah
Tuesday, June 27, 2006 01:47:26 am AGENCIES

KUWAIT: They came, young and old, rich and poor, eager to hear the latest stump speech and even more eager to make their presence felt.

Hundreds of voters gathered Saturday night in a cavernous wedding hall in a conservative suburb of Kuwait City to hear Walid al-Tabtabaei, an incumbent Islamist candidate, give one of his last speeches before the parliamentary elections on Thursday.

The voters compared notes on candidates and debated their merits. One thing set them apart from the voters who attended political rallies in past elections here, though: almost all were women.

"The MPs used to vote against us; now, they are wooing us to vote for them," said Lulua Abdullah al-Omari, a mother of four, who sat in the front row and was eager to talk politics. "Women suddenly have more value in this society."

Kuwait's women won their long fight for suffrage and to run for office last year, and they have quickly risen from political nonentities to the most sought-after constituency.

Many political analysts expect the entry of women in the political process to redraw the political map and to hold significant sway over the 50-member Parliament in the years to come as they become an Arab version of the soccer mom.

The Times of India