Muteiri grabs her chance in history

Today, the divorced mother of four has secured a place in history by becoming one of the first Kuwaiti women to run in parliamentary elections, a little over a year after women won the right to vote and seek office in the conservative Gulf Arab state.

"You only get one chance to make history. I grabbed the chance, and I knocked down psychological and social barriers by announcing my candidacy" in Thursday's polls, Muteiri told AFP.

Along with a handful of bedouin women, Muteiri is one of 28 female candidates. A total of 253 hopefuls are vying for 50 parliament seats, with women making up 195,000 of the 340,000 eligible voters.

The modesty of her campaign contrasts sharply with the pomp and orchestration of her seven male rivals' election rallies in the 21st constituency.

Here, there are no air-conditioned tents, fiery speeches or lavish banquets.

Muteiri's campaign headquarters is at home in the Sabah al-Salem district, disparagingly dubbed "Motallakat" (divorcees) because it has many houses allocated for divorced women.

"Simplicity is the hallmark of my campaign. I couldn't afford to squander any money," said the petite former education ministry employee who now runs a beauty salon.