Kuwait

Four Kuwaitis have become the first women elected to their nation's parliament, a resounding victory in a conservative Persian Gulf country where the legislature has been men-only for almost half a century.
Women gained the right to vote and run for office in 2005 but failed in two previous elections to win seats in the 50-member parliament. Official results from Saturday's vote were read out by judges on state-owned TV on Sunday.To read the full article please visit the Yahoo News website.

Women have won four seats in Kuwait's parliament, the first to do so in the Gulf Arab state's history, in a blow to Islamists who have long dominated the assembly.
To read the full article and get some some facts about Kuwait's first women lawmakers please visit the Reuters' website.

MP-elect Jassem Al-Khorafi said he was surprised when only four women won the elections as they constitute more than half of the total number of eligible voters, reports Awan daily. Speaking at the election center of Salwa Al-Jassar recently, Al-Khorafi argued more women would have entered the Parliament if all the female electors voted in their favor.
To read the full article please visit the Arab Times website.

AlـSabah received the four female MPs, who recently won in the parliamentary elections, at the Seif Palace on May 19, 2009. His Highness the Amir congratulated the newly elected female MPs for earning the citizens'' confidence and expressed his joy after meeting MPs Maasouma AlـMubarak, Salwa AlـJassar, Rola Dashti and Aseel AlـAwadhi.
To read the full article please visit the Al Watan Daily website.

Newly elected MP, former minister Dr. Masouma Al-Mubarak, has announced that she will be running for the Deputy Speaker's position in parliament, inspired by the rate of change that the results of the elections have shown.
To read the full article please visit the Kuwait Times website.

“We should put Kuwait on top of our priorities as it is our only protection and future,” MP-elect Maasouma Al-Mubarak said Tuesday when the four female MPs-elect celebrated their historic victory at the Women Cultural & Social Society in Khaldiya.
To read the full article please visit the Arab Times website.

Why did voters turn a blind eye to the fatwas that were issued shortly before the elections that outlawed and sought to thwart the election of women based on the pretext that this goes against Sharia and that a woman cannot be part of public office and this includes having a seat in parliament, according to Kuwait’s Salafist Movement (other Islamists differ in opinion with regards to public office).
To read the full article please visit the Asharq Alawsat website.

AMMAN: Nancy Bakir, the Jordanian Minister of Public Sector Reform, said yesterday that the Arab World should follow the example of Kuwait and study the Gulf state's democratic accomplishments and parliamentary elections.
To read the full article please visit the Kuwait Times website.

Female MPs Maasouma Al-Mubarak and Aseel Al-Awadhi called for the formation of a homogenous and capable government that can submit its program of action and defend it. Mubarak also added that she comes to the national assembly with the aim to achieve more understanding and cooperation between the government and MPs. She denied reports that the four women are forming a bloc.

To read the full article, please visit the Kuwait Times Webiste.