Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Wednesday, May 18, 2005 |
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Atul Aneja
A BIG HAND: Activists burst into cheers as Kuwait Speaker Jassim al-Khorafi announces that Parliament has passed a law granting women the right to vote and run in elections. — PHOTO: AP
MANAMA: In a historic vote, the Kuwaiti Parliament has granted women the right to vote and stand for parliamentary and local elections. Parliament amended Kuwait's election law with 35 votes in favour, 23 against, and one abstention, giving women full political rights at par with men. The amendment is the culmination of several years of debate and struggle by Kuwaiti women. Kuwait will now become the fourth Persian Gulf country after Oman, Qatar and Bahrain, where women would have the right to participate in elections. An alliance of a majority of tribal and Islamist members had previously blocked any change in law.
Women jubilant
"I congratulate the women of Kuwait for having achieved their political rights," said Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. Supporters of the amendment who had gathered at the visitors' gallery greeted the result with a thunderous applause. Women groups in the region were jubilant following the legislation. "The amendment is of fundamental importance as it ends gender discrimination in Kuwait and bestows a basic human right. It also symbolises the sweeping changes that the region is experiencing", Hoda Badran, chairperson of the Cairo-based Alliance for Arab Women told The Hindu over telephone. Mohammad Jasser al-Sager, a pro-reform lawmaker said that the vote was, "one of the greatest achievements of all time in the Kuwaiti political arena." United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed the new law and described it as a "historic step."
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