Kuwaiti government approves a decision permits women the right to voting

The Kuwaiti Cabinet on Sunday approved a draft bill provides for permitting women to vote and to be candidates in the parliamentary elections.

The statement issued by the cabinet stressed submitting the draft bill to the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad to submit it to the nation's council for consent.

Observers, nevertheless, consider that the government might fail once again in endorsing this bill at the parliament where the trend rejecting offering the Kuwaiti woman her political rights enjoys a great influence at the people and parliamentary levels alike.

This trend is represented in most of the Islamists of their various aggregations and the trend of the tribes, as well as parliamentarians who do not belong to these groups but their voters always threaten not to cast their votes with them in case they support this case.

On the other side, there is a trend of liberals and certain Islamists based on demanding the political rights of the woman to similar situation in the Islamic countries where woman enjoys her political rights. They also relate their conception to Fatwa of Islamic scholars according to which many Islamic movements work in several Arab and Islamic states.

In May 2003, the Kuwaiti cabinet made an amendment on the municipal council law so as to give the woman her right to nomination and elect members of the council. But the parliament has not decided on that yet. In 1999, the parliament also refused twice an Amire decree giving woman her political rights.