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 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.
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.
AlـSabah received the four female MPs, who recently won in the parliamentary elections, at the Seif Palace on May 19, 2009.
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.
“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.
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, a
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.
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.