Kuwaiti women eye parliament seats, but chances slim

Kuwaiti men and women are separated by a curtain as they attend a parliamentary election rally on Monday in Dahiyet Abdullah al-Salem in Kuwait City. PHOTO: AFP

Women won the right to vote and stand for public office in a landmark vote in the conservative Gulf state's parliament in May 2005, and the first woman minister was appointed to the cabinet a month later.

Most of the 28 female hopefuls have campaigned vigorously and drawn large crowds to their rallies, especially fellow women, with several outshining their male rivals.

Candidates such as leading women rights activists Rula Dashti, Nabila al-Anjari and Fatima al-Abdali came up with ambitious election programmes and appeared more organised than some male counterparts.

Although they had little time to prepare their campaigns, after parliament was dissolved and an early election was called a year ahead of time, a number of female candidates were optimistic about their chances.

"This is the first time Kuwaiti women are taking part in the election. They will make history" by winning seats, Dashti told an election rally.

But analysts say that under the current electoral system, which has been at the center of a bitter political crisis, it will be difficult -- if not impossible -- for women to enter parliament.

"I think we need a miracle," said Lulwa al-Mulla, secretary general of the Social and Cultural Women Society, the main women's organisation in Kuwait.

"Under the current 25-constituency system, I think women candidates don't have any real chances of success," she told AFP.

Currently, each constituency elects two members to the 50-seat parliament, which makes the chances of newcomers such as women very weak, she said.

"We need to slash the number of constituencies to five to increase the number of MPs in each district. This will boost women's chances," Mulla said.

Women candidates had very little time to prepare for the ballot because "we were working on the assumption that parliamentary elections would be held in 2007," she added.

The number of eligible women voters is 195,000, as against 145,000 men. This is mainly because military personnel, almost all male, are barred from voting.

Women voters outnumber men in 21 of the 25 constituencies, and in some districts by large margins. But it is not yet clear if women will vote for female candidates.