Kuwaiti parliament refuses to give women the right to vote

The Kuwaiti Nation's Council (parliament) on Tuesday refused to give women the right to vote, following a seven months of controversial debate. By taking this decision the parliament in Kuwait goes in contradiction to the will of the ruler of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who in last May issued an Emiri decree that provided for giving the woman the right to vote and to be candidates as of the coming elections in the year 2003.

Some 32 parliament members voted against the Emiri decree, and it was backed by 30, while two parliamentarians abstained from voting.