VZCZCXRO5008
RR RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHKU #0614/01 1491335
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281335Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1562
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

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. 
 
------------------------------------ 
INCREASED PARTICIPATION AND PROGRESS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶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. 
 
------------------- 
HURDLES TO OVERCOME 
------------------- 
 
¶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. 
 
-------------- 
WOMEN TO WATCH 
-------------- 
 
¶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). 
 
-------------------------------------- 
LOOKING AHEAD: THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM? 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶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. 
 
********************************************* * 
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/ 
********************************************* * 
JONES