VZCZCXRO5997
PP RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHMOS RUEHPW
DE RUEHKU #0085/01 0091320
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 091320Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2456
INFO RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KUWAIT 000085 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARPI (BERNS), NEA/PI, AND NEA/FO (WALSH) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2016 
TAGS: PHUM PINR KDEM KWMN KU FREEDOM AGENDA
WOMEN'S POLITICAL RIGHTS 
SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA:  MOST SAY WOMEN WON'T WIN, BUT 
KUWAIT GEARING UP FOR THEIR ROLE IN 2007 ELECTIONS 
 
REF: A. 05 KUWAIT 5285 
     ¶B. 05 KUWAIT 5183 
     ¶C. 05 KUWAIT 4993 
     ¶D. 05 KUWAIT 4325 
     ¶E. 05 KUWAIT 3178 
     ¶F. 05 KUWAIT 2093 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (U)  Summary:  Automatic registration of female voters 
began in late December and the Ministry of Interior announced 
January 7 that almost 195,000 names have been added to the 
electoral rolls, doubling the number of eligible voters. 
Verification of voter information is underway and the 
registration process will last until the end of February. 
While there is considerable doubt that women will be elected 
to the National Assembly in their first attempt, efforts 
continue to prepare women to participate in the electoral 
process.  The Women's Cultural and Social Society launched a 
lecture series on issues important to women, attracting as 
speakers senior Government representatives.  It has also 
begun a four-month, standing-room-only training program for 
women with classes taught by professors from Kuwait 
University.  Several female candidates are regularly featured 
in the local press and some women, including candidate Aisha 
Al-Reshaid, have crossed the gender segregation line by 
attending traditional, male-only diwaniyas.  Regular activism 
has slowly begun to erode the novelty of women voting and 
shifted focus to issues that may impede their full 
participation such as campaign finance and religious 
restrictions.  The desire remains for training and many 
women's rights activists have asked about the return of NDI 
to Kuwait as a resource in the run-up to the elections.  End 
Summary. 
 
Registering Women to Vote Changing the Electoral Landscape 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶2.  (U)  On December 13, the National Assembly approved a 
temporary amendment to the election law to facilitate the 
registration of female voters (ref B).  The measure opened 
the registration process in December (voter registration 
normally occurs each February) and required the Public 
Authority for Civil Information (PCAI) to provide the 
Ministry of Interior (MOI) with a list of all eligible female 
voters using their civil identification numbers.  (Note: 
This "automatic" registration process was welcomed by 
activists as a quick and efficient way to get women on the 
voting rolls, rather then requiring each women to register 
individually.  End note.)  During a January 7 press 
conference, MOI Legal Department head Khaled Al-Osaimi 
announced that PCAI had provided the names of 251,134 women, 
of which 194,614 were registered thereby doubling the size of 
the electorate.  MOI must still verify the eligibility of the 
women registered and expects to remove as many as 33,000 
names of naturalized Kuwaitis who have not satisfied the 
20-year residency requirement for voting.  The names of an 
additional 56,520 potential female voters will be published 
after the Eid Al-Adha holiday in the official gazette so that 
women, who for some reason were not automatically registered 
to vote, may confirm their eligibility.  Al-Hayat newspaper 
predicts that by 2007, there will be 400,000 registered 
voters including 220,000 women. 
 
Women's Cultural Society -- More than Ladies Who Lunch 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶3.  (U)  Since the May 16 suffrage decision, the Women's 
Cultural and Social Society (WCSS), often viewed as a purely 
social organization for elite women, has been seized with 
preparations for the 2007 elections.  It hosted, with UNDP 
support, a panel discussion featuring Deputy Speaker of 
Parliament Meshari Al-Anjari and Minister of Planning and 
Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs Dr. 
Masouma Al-Mubarak, on the importance of women's 
participation in Kuwait's growth and development.  Dr. 
Masouma focused on the changes to the electorate once women 
were registered to vote and implored the audience to pay more 
attention to Kuwait's youth, commenting that the electorate 
will surge again in 2011 when Kuwait's large youth population 
reaches voting age.  Al-Anjari criticized the amount of time 
it took for women to gain full political rights and asserted, 
"Our women are capable of doing any tough task and we must 
give them enough opportunities.  If they can work eight hours 
a day, five days a week in schools, private companies, and 
public sector establishments, it won't be too much for them 
to cast a ballot just once every four years." 
 
¶4.  (U)  In addition to the lecture series, WSCS launched a 
 
KUWAIT 00000085  002 OF 004 
 
 
training program, with materials from UNICEF, UNIFEM, and 
UNDP, on developing political skills.  Courses began in 
December and will be offered one week each month for four 
months.  The first tranche of workshops, all taught by 
Kuwaitis, focused on campaign skills, developing a platform 
and message, and family law.  In a meeting on the margins of 
the workshop with visiting NEA/FO Senior Advisor Erin Walsh, 
participants asked for training on campaign finance and 
management.  They stressed the need for long-term 
instruction, commenting that the Government did all the hard 
work in getting the suffrage bill passed and Kuwaiti women 
now needed to be more energetic and aggressive in asserting 
their political rights. 
 
The Diwaniya -- No Longer a Gentlemen's Club 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  While Kuwait is host to a few women's and co-ed 
diwaniyas, historically and traditionally the diwaniya is a 
male-only venue for discussing a range of issues from 
politics to pop culture (ref E).  Many Kuwaitis have voiced 
concerns about how women could effectively run for office as 
most campaigning takes place at diwaniyas, but women and men 
are steadily breaking down the gender barrier.  Ibtihal Abdel 
Aziz Taher, an entrepreneur and activist, told Walsh that she 
mustered the courage to attend a lecture hosted at the 
liberal Kuwait Democratic Forum (KDF) diwaniya and was 
surprised by how warmly she was welcomed.  Later, members of 
the KDF recounted her visit for Walsh and said they hoped 
more women would visit theirs and others' diwaniyas. 
 
¶6.  (C)  Journalist and parliamentary candidate Aisha 
Al-Reshaid has been steadily making the diwaniya rounds, 
attracting press attention at each stop.  She told satellite 
channel Al-Arabiya January 7 that she was initially hesitant 
to visit the men's gatherings, and in preparation, recited 
from memory verses from the Holy Quran.  Her fears were 
unfounded:  she was well received and her visits made the 
press.  Candidate and chairperson of the Kuwait Economic 
Society Rola Dashti admires Al-Reshaid's efforts, calling the 
diwaniya tours a shrewd campaign strategy.  In her view, by 
attracting so much media attention and receiving as many 
invitations as she solicits, Al-Reshaid makes it difficult 
for those who oppose women's political participation to 
attack her, explaining by doing so, "They open themselves up 
to criticism."  In contrast, Kuwait Times columnist Muna 
Al-Fuzai has criticized Al-Reshaid saying her target 
audiences should not be the men, rather the women and youth 
who will shape Kuwait's political future.  Attorney and 
activist Dr. Badria Al-Awadi, a close friend and supporter of 
Dashti, agreed with Al-Fuzai and said Al-Reshaid's media 
campaign simply feeds her ego. 
 
Meet the Candidates 
------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U)  In addition to Rola Dashti, who is convinced she 
will be elected to Parliament, and Aisha Al-Reshaid, other 
potential candidates include attorney Salma Al-Ajmi who said 
she might run for Parliament to "encourage women to fight to 
ensure their full political rights" and to amend housing, 
citizenship, and personal laws that negatively affect women 
and non-Kuwaitis.  Kuwait University Professor Maryam 
Al-Kandari told the press she would run for office "if 
nominated by a political front which promises to organize an 
election campaign for me." 
 
¶8.  (C)  Artist/writer/activist Thuraya Al-Baqsami told 
PolChief that she too was seriously considering running for 
Parliament in 2007.  She explained that she had long had the 
idea, but was further inspired after having seen "Chisholm 
'72" at one of post's movie nights (ref C).  The documentary 
on the former New York Congresswoman's presidential campaign 
helped her to realize that she did not have to be elected in 
order to make a difference.  "I have a lot to say," and 
campaigning is a vehicle to share her views with a wider 
audience.  Thuraya noted that one obstacle to running for 
office was campaign finance.  She explained that running for 
office was very expensive -- notwithstanding vote-buying on 
election day -- because candidates must feed those who attend 
their rallies.  She quipped, "I will serve tea and water." 
(Note:  Thuraya is quite well off financially.  End note.) 
 
¶9.  (C)  Columnist Al-Fuzai, known for controversial articles 
on divorce, abortion, arranged marriages, and capital 
punishment, confided to PolChief that she had not ruled out 
running for office.  If she decided to run, however, she 
would wait until the last possible moment to announce her 
candidacy.  She believed several women who have already 
 
KUWAIT 00000085  003 OF 004 
 
 
announced their intentions to run, among them Dashti and 
Al-Reshaid, have undermined their political aspirations.  She 
accused them of not understanding how Kuwaiti society 
operates and of launching western-style campaigns.  In her 
view, by being out in the open so early, they have made 
themselves targets for attack and will not be able to build a 
true support base.  She is convinced the publicity will hurt 
them.  In contrast, she believes her outreach to Kuwaiti 
youth and conservative groups will benefit her if not in 
2007, then in 2011.  Al-Fuzai, although she considers herself 
a liberal, is from a conservative, lower middle class family 
and says relations with her family are strained because of 
her views. 
 
¶10.  (SBU)  One potential candidate who does enjoy popular 
support from both women and men as well as liberal and 
conservative audiences is Dr. Khadija Al-Mahmeed. An 
Abaya-clad Shi'a, Al-Mahmeed has the backing of the Islamic 
National Consensus Movement, a moderate Shiite bloc founded 
in 2001, and has taken training classes offered by the 
organization.  Al-Mahmeed's platform addresses national 
security, educational reform with an emphasis on science and 
technology, environmental protection, and the rights of the 
bidoon (stateless Arabs). 
 
Shari'a Clause:  Only Ink on Paper 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU)  There continues to be much discussion on the 
clause in the election law that states women will only be 
able to exercise their political rights in accordance with 
Shari'a (ref F).  Many women activists fear that the still 
undefined clause will be used against them in the run-up to 
the elections, perhaps requiring all women to wear the hijab 
or calling for separate polling places.  Attorney Nada 
Al-Mutawa lamented, "they're gonna irritate us with this." 
Liberal MP Ali Al-Rashed recently told PolChief that he had 
no idea what the clause meant and considered it "ink on 
paper" added at the 11th hour to appease conservative 
elements of Parliament.  He was confident it would not/not 
present an obstacle to women voting or running for office. 
 
The Bottom Line 
--------------- 
 
¶12.  (U)  Many consider campaign finance to be the ultimate 
obstacle to women's political participation.  All the 
potential candidates have raised concerns about fundraising 
and it was a theme repeated often during NEA Walsh's December 
visit to Kuwait.  Dr. Masouma commented at the September 
NDI-organized and MEPI-funded regional campaign school that 
campaign finance would influence women's participation (ref 
D) and Shaykha Latifa Al-Fahd Al-Sabah, wife of Crown Prince 
Shaykh Saad Al-Salem Al-Sabah, suggested to the press the 
establishment of a fund to support female candidates, 
although she asserted that she personally would not 
contribute to it.  (Note:  Members of the ruling Al-Sabah 
family are not allowed to vote or run for office.  End note.) 
 
What the U.S. Can Do 
-------------------- 
 
¶13.  (U)  Few expect that a woman will be elected to national 
office in 2007, but there is enthusiasm for and momentum in 
preparing for the elections.  The March 2004 training and the 
September 2005 campaign school, both sponsored by NDI, were 
popular events and there is interest in a long-term NDI 
presence in Kuwait in advance of the elections.  Activists 
have stressed, however, that the training focus should be on 
campaign finance/management and the training of trainers who 
can travel to rural, conservative areas of Kuwait to 
encourage the political participation of women.  Potential 
candidates have also requested more speakers from both the 
U.S. and the Arab world who can talk about their experiences 
in running for offices.  As part of our active engagement of 
women leaders, we are promoting Kuwaiti women as nominees to 
participate in relevant regional conferences and U.S.-based 
leadership programs, such as the Georgetown Leadership 
Seminar, the Yale Fellowship Program and similar professional 
development opportunities.  Additionally, Post will continue 
to employ MEPI programs, movie nights, DVC exchanges, and 
other outreach activities to encourage and support women's 
political participation, but would welcome speakers and 
additional information on regional programs to advance this 
important objective of the Freedom Agenda. 
 
********************************************* 
Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
 
KUWAIT 00000085  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
You can also access this site through the 
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website 
********************************************* 
LeBaron