VZCZCXRO6803
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKU #3939/01 2751442
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021442Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6997
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 003939 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PI; LONDON FOR TSOU; AND PARIS FOR WALLER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KWMN KU FREEDOM AGENDA
SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA:  WOMEN ACTIVISTS CALL FOR "ONE 
VOICE AND ONE HEART" AND A TEN-SEAT QUOTA IN PARLIAMENT 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 2393 -- WOMEN'S ELECTION PARTICIPATION 
 
        BREAKING TABOOS 
     ¶B. KUWAIT 2821 -- FREEDOM AGENDA: CABINET APPROVES 
        FIVE CONSTITUENCY PROPOSAL 
     ¶C. 05 KUWAIT 2931 -- PDAS CHENEY IN KUWAIT: WOMEN'S 
        POLITICAL RIGHTS 
     ¶D. 05 KUWAIT 2674 -- AMBASSADOR CALLS ON FIRST 
        WOMEN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL MEMBERS 
     ¶E. 05 KUWAIT 2093 -- "MABROUK:" KUWAITI WOMEN GAIN 
        POLITICAL RIGHTS YET PONDER THEIR 
        PARTICIPATION 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  A group of prominent Kuwaiti women 
political activists, academics, and former candidates for 
Parliament have launched a public campaign to establish a 
quota for the number of parliamentary seats to be held by 
women.  They have lobbied the Amir, the Prime Minister, and 
First Deputy Prime Minister/Interior Minister/Defense 
Minister during Ramadan calls; held workshops on the issue; 
and taken the matter to the press.  The group applauded the 
impact women had on the June 29 elections, but lamented that 
tribal politics and Kuwaiti social customs were barriers to 
the election of women.  They argued if quotas were necessary 
in Morocco, Jordan, and Lebanon, countries they consider to 
be more open, they were mandatory in Kuwait.  At a September 
29 gathering, the women activists agreed that any quota 
should be a temporary measure, but reached no consensus on 
its proposed implementation:  by Amiri decree or through an 
amendment to the election law.  In addition to guaranteed 
representation in Parliament, the women called for the 
appointment of more female ministers and greater 
representation by women at senior levels of government.  They 
were unanimous, however, that no amendments be made to the 
constitution, fearing such a move would open the door to 
changes sought by Islamist groups such as making Shari'a the 
primary source for legislation instead of a main source. 
Former parliamentary candidate Aisha Al-Reshaid further 
called on the need for greater unity among Kuwaiti women. 
Comparing Kuwaiti women to the Bahraini, she said the latter 
were better able to overcome political and class differences 
to work for a common cause.  Despite the attention given to 
quotas, public opinion remains divided.  A corps of Kuwait's 
women and democratic activists consider a quota system to be 
a tool used by developing nations and nascent democracies and 
fear such a mechanism in Kuwait would lead to calls for a set 
number of parliamentary seats for the Shi'a, tribal elements, 
and other groups.  End Summary. 
 
A Call for Quotas 
----------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Following appeals on establishing a parliamentary 
quota for women's representation made to the Amir, the Prime 
Minister, and First Deputy Prime Minister/Interior 
Minister/Defense Minister during Ramadan calls, journalist 
and former candidate for Parliament Aisha Al-Reshaid hosted 
September 29 a Ramadan Ghabqa (late evening dinner) for women 
political activists and candidates, lawyers, and academics on 
the topic.  Breaking with tradition, instead of simply 
offering a meal, Al-Reshaid required attendees to sing for 
their suppers, offering their views on the quota system and 
strategies to achieve equal representation in government. 
Al-Reshaid and Khalida Al-Khidhar, who ran for a seat in both 
the April 2006 Municipal Council by-elections and the June 
2006 parliamentary elections, asserted that Kuwaiti women did 
well in their first electoral experience, but the outcome 
made clear that tribal politics and wasta (connections) 
limited the political advancement of women.  They compared 
Kuwait to Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco, societies they 
consider more open than Kuwait, and said if quotas were 
needed there, Kuwaiti women had no chance unless National 
Assembly seats were set aside.  Longtime activist Fatima 
Al-Hussein, mother of academic and activist Nada Al-Mutawa, 
said Kuwaiti men were at the top of the mountain and women 
were still standing in a hole; intervention to get women into 
Parliament was a must. 
 
A Temporary Fix 
--------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  The gathered women, among them parliamentary 
candidate Dr. Fatima Al-Abdaly, attorney Najla Al-Naki, 
activist Dr. Suad Al-Trarwah, and appointed Municipal Council 
member Fatima Al-Sabah, agreed that any quota should be a 
temporary measure only.  Al-Abdaly asserted that a quota had 
been applied to limit women's admittance to the colleges of 
engineering and medicine and it was time for a quota system 
to promote their admittance to Parliament.  Regularly citing 
the CEDAW and pointing to Egypt as an example, Al-Abdaly also 
 
KUWAIT 00003939  002 OF 003 
 
 
asserted UN support for quotas on a temporary basis.  The 
activists are convinced that women, once given a chance, will 
prove their worth and be able to compete equally against men. 
 They were not willing, however, to wait another 42 years and 
proffered a variety of strategies for ensuring female 
representation in the National Assembly:  a requirement that 
one of the 10 MPs from each of the five electoral districts 
be a woman; that 25% of all candidates per district be women; 
or that when tallying votes, one in three of the winners be a 
woman.  In addition to parliamentary representation, the 
women said that one female minister was insufficient.  They 
called for the appointment of more women as ministers and 
undersecretaries.  Al-Hussein commented to much applause that 
a home needs both a husband and a wife to run smoothly and 
the Kuwaiti nation is just a big house. 
 
But Don't Touch the Constitution 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Despite the call for amendments to the elections 
law or an Amiri decree to establish a parliamentary quota for 
representation by women, all were adamant that the 
constitution should not be amended.  Although they said the 
constitution was not perfect and complained that language 
referring to electoral districts in the plural prevented the 
creation of a single electoral constituency, they feared any 
constitutional amendment would pave the way for Islamists to 
press for Shari'a as "the source" over current wording that 
calls Shari'a "a main source for legislation" (ref D). 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Nonetheless, there was no consensus on the best 
way to achieve the quota.  Some called for an Amiri decree, 
saying such a move would signal Government support for 
women's full political participation.  Other suggested the 
Amir be able to appoint women to Parliament in the same way 
two women were appointed to the Municipal Council (ref F). 
Such a move would guarantee a liberal, female presence in the 
National Assembly to counter women from Islamist 
organizations who are better organized and expected to be the 
first women elected to Parliament, they argued.  (Note: 
Amiri decrees require ratification by 2/3 of the National 
Assembly, a fact some of the women did not know.  The Kuwaiti 
constitution requires that MPs be popularly elected, not 
appointed.  End note.)  Al-Abdaly and some of the lawyers 
gathered advocated changes to the elections law, the same 
vehicle that gave women the right to vote and run for office 
in 2005 (ref G).  They believe that Parliament, when it 
reconvenes in late October, will consider amendments to the 
law, including lowering the voting age to 18 and permitting 
those in the security forces to vote, and want any changes 
affecting women to be considered at the same time.  They do 
not want women's representation in the National Assembly to 
be identified as a separate issue.  They further called for 
swift action, speculating that the current National Assembly 
will not last long and that its dissolution could come as 
early as March 2007. 
 
All for One and One for All! 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Al-Reshaid welcomed the suggestions and support 
for a quota, but chided the women for their lack of unity. 
In addition to Kuwait's political and social culture, she 
blamed competition among women for the failure of any woman 
to be elected in June.  She commented that she recently 
traveled to Bahrain to meet with candidates in the upcoming 
elections and was impressed by their unity as women.  She 
shared with her guests reported Bahraini shock at the discord 
among Kuwaiti women and challenged them to reach across 
economic and religious barriers to work for one shared goal, 
saying Kuwaiti women needed "one voice and one heart."  Only 
by working together could women make the thousands of 
diwaniya (traditional discussion salons) visits to build 
political and financial support for a campaign.  She also 
encouraged them to become active in the Women's Network, a 
recently formed organization to advance the political, 
social, and economic participation of women.  (Note: 
Al-Abdaly is the Secretary-General of the Women's Network 
which also includes Dr. Rola Dashti, the top woman 
vote-getter in the 2006 elections.  The Network is a Post 
MEPI-partner and offered to host the Gulf branch of the Arab 
Women's Legal Network.  End note.) 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Despite increased discussion of a quota system, 
the measure does not yet enjoy broad popular support.  Many 
of those now in favor of a quota previously opposed it. 
Additionally, many Kuwaiti men and women consider quotas to 
be "undemocratic" and a tool used only by developing nations. 
 Members of the Women's Cultural and Social Society, which 
 
KUWAIT 00003939  003 OF 003 
 
 
waged a successful voter information campaign during the 
elections, consider a quota system discrimination against men 
and called for MPs to be selected based on their 
qualifications and not their genders.  Still others worry 
that implementation of a quota system for women would lead to 
a call for quotas for Shi'a politicians, tribal candidates, 
and other groupings, resulting in the eventual erosion of the 
legislative body. 
 
********************************************* * 
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/ 
********************************************* * 
LeBaron