Religious Fatawa, interests prevent participation Kuwaiti women in politics
Kuwait, Politics, 5/21/2003

The trend which rejects offering woman political rights in Kuwait enjoys a vast people and parliamentary influence.

This trend is reflected in most of the Islamists of various aggregations and the trend representing the tribes as well as parliamentarians who do not belong to these groups, and voters always threaten not to elect them in case they support this issue ( woman's participation in politics.).

It seems that the decision of the Kuwaiti cabinet last week to submit the draft law providing woman the right to be represented at the municipal council as candidates and a voter as well as to be appointed at the legal committee at the Ministerial Council will be challenged by obstacles and does not seem to come to light because of the strong opposition trend and the weak front that support this issue.

On the other hand, there is a trend of liberals and certain Islamists who demand women's political rights dueto the reality already that exist in most of the Islamic states where the woman enjoys all her political rights. They also base their support on to Fatwa by Islam's scholars. A Fatwa which is always adopted by many Islamic movements in several Arab and Islamic states.

To this effect, the renowned Muslim scholar Youssef al-Qirdawi said on the sideline of the conference to liberate women, which was held in Cairo on February 22nd, that not permitting the Kuwaiti woman taking part in the political life "is legally unjustified and a sort of oppressing testimony." While such saying has pleased certain liberal Kuwaiti parliamentarians who are support the issue, it was rejected by many Islamists. To this end the dean of the faculty of Sharia ( Islamic Jurisprudence ) at Kuwait University Muhammad al-Tabtaba'e stressed that al-Ifta' department in the country issued a Fatwa that forbids woman's parliamentary participation in nomination or election.

Sheikh Abdul Rahman Abdul Khaleq -- the most popular advocate among the Salafeya ( Predestination) trend -- seems tougher in rejecting woman's participation at the municipal council and the parliament. He justified his position in that the political work does not "cope with woman's nature," describing the membership in the municipal council as one of the "public posts that the woman should not assume."

However, the Kuwaiti woman plays an important role in the scientific and family life. The rector of Kuwait University Fayza al-Khurafi worked as a director for Kuwait University for a long time. There are woman officials in the diplomatic corp and businesswoman.

The Kuwaiti woman contributes 36% of the labor force, while female rate at the university is 69%, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Planning on the "Kuwaiti women and social participation," issued in February 2002.

Nevertheless, the demographic map of the Kuwaiti people stresses that the absence of the Kuwaiti woman from political participation means that more than half of the Kuwaiti population are deprived from choosing their parliament which enacts laws that is of concern to the society men and women.

The official annual population statistics for 2002 shows that the Kuwaiti population tolled 884,55 persons including 446,698 women, representing an increase in the number of women over men by 128, 046.

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