Threat to Kuwait 'yes' vote on women's rights

Political wrangling is threatening to derail the fight by Kuwaiti women for greater political rights in the conservative Gulf state ahead of a crucial parliamentary session today on allowing females to participate in municipal elections for the first time.

The haggling follows parliament’s preliminary 26-20 approval during the first reading of the draft Municipal Council law on April 19 to let women vote and compete in local council elections. Today’s second reading of the bill and a second vote is required before it becomes law.

But with fundamentalist MPs who abstained from the initial vote expected to participate this time around, concern is rising among advocates of a greater political say for Kuwaiti women might be spoiled. The initial vote was widely seen as the first step toward allowing women to achieve the larger goal of voting and running for Kuwait’s 50-seat legislature.

But since then, conservative parliamentarians opposed to women’s rights have intensified demands for civil servants to receive an €169 monthly salary increase and for exempting Kuwaitis from paying their outstanding power bills owed to the government.

The Cabinet has opposed the raise that would cost it at least €1bn a year at a time it is trying to reform its oil-dependent economy.

“The government might strike a deal with Islamists” to trade women’s rights for the pay raise, liberal MP Ahmed al-Rubei said. “If we gain women’s political rights we lose public money, and if we gain public money we lose women’s rights.”

Legislators have said they will introduce amendments to the state-proposed Municipal Council law today, including granting police and military the right to vote and run for office, as well as lowering the voter age to 18 from 21.

“Things are neither clear nor comforting,” said Kawthar al-Joaan, a women’s rights activist. “Although some of the demands are important, their timing and the fact that some tie them to women’s rights amount to haggling.”

Only 15% of Kuwaitis are eligible to vote. If women over 21 are allowed to register, it could rise to 38.9%, according to Al-Shall Economic Consultants estimates.

Ayed al-Manna, who teaches political science at the Open University, said if all MPs opposing women’s rights attend the session, the second municipal elections vote could be disappointing for women wanting to enter politics.

Some MPs believe women should have equal political rights, but vote against them because they know their conservative constituents oppose change, al-Manna added.

In 1999, parliament squashed a women’s rights decree issued by the emir, Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, while the legislature was not in session. Soon after, religious extremists and tribal MPs narrowly defeated an identical bill tabled by liberals.

A year ago, the Cabinet introduced a suffrage bill that is expected to be soon deliberated by the house, although no date has been set.

The religious argument for opposing women’s rights has been eroded by the Islamic Affairs Ministry ruling that Kuwait’s emir has the last word on granting women equal political rights if Muslim clerics disagree.

Kuwaiti women in the oil-rich US ally have reached high government posts in education, oil and the diplomatic corps. But extremists are afraid their involvement in politics would make them neglect their families.