US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT5735

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 005735 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/PPD: JKINCANNON, JDAVIES, TROBERTS 
DEPT FOR NEA/REA KEARY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, KWMN, PGOV, KDEM, KPAO, KMPI, KU 
SUBJECT: REVISED DEMOCRACY SMALL GRANT PROPOSAL FOR GENDER 
BUDGETING STUDY IN KUWAIT 
 
REF: A) STATE 91641 
     B) KUWAIT 02008 
 
1. This is a revised request of Reftel B from Embassy Kuwait for 
an NEA Democracy Small Grant to sponsor a gender-budgeting study 
to be carried out by the Kuwait Economic Society (KES). The 
revised funding request for this grant is $34,350.00 (see para 9). 
The KES has requested a specific outside consultant to carry out 
the gender-budgeting study, Ms. Debbie Budlender (see para 8). 
 
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THE PROBLEM 
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2. Women, who do not have the right to vote, have little 
opportunity to influence policy in Kuwait, and women's rights 
activists point to overwhelming apathy as one of the greatest 
obstacles in their path to equality. Many of those who oppose 
women's rights hide behind the high standard of living enjoyed by 
all Kuwaiti citizens; these critics feel Kuwaiti women have no 
need to gain political equality to improve their situations 
because they experience no suffering and want for nothing. 
 
 
3. Recognizing that a direct push for political rights does not 
appeal to many Kuwaiti women, women's rights activists now hope to 
use the issue of economic inequalities to gather support for 
reforms from conservative women. They are attempting to draw 
attention to economic inequalities to demonstrate to Kuwaiti women 
that their lack of political rights has far reaching consequences. 
By highlighting the ways in which the disenfranchisement 
translates into economic disadvantages for women and their 
children, women's rights activists hope to raise awareness and 
interest among more conservative women. Activists hope that 
presenting women with evidence that they are not receiving their 
fair share of economic benefits from the government will energize 
women to agitate for a voice in that government. 
 
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THE PROJECT 
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4. To help develop this new strategy for gaining support for 
political rights for women, Embassy Kuwait requests an NEA 
Democracy Small Grant (DSG) to sponsor a gender-budgeting study to 
be carried out by the Kuwait Economic Society. The DSG would fund 
a gender-sensitive analysis of the most recent available Kuwaiti 
budget, and the publication of that analysis. Embassy Kuwait 
believes the study will bolster claims by women's rights activists 
that lack of a voice in politics translates into concrete economic 
disadvantages for women and their children. 
 
5. Gender-budgeting (GB) is a method of examining the government 
budget to determine its different impacts on men and women, and 
can be used to gender-analyze macroeconomic policy. GB initiatives 
reflect the growing move toward more open, participatory, and 
responsive systems of governance; since 1985, 20 countries have 
used GB techniques as part of their budget development process. GB 
initiatives bring the issue of gender equity in resource 
allocation to the attention of legislators, and analyze the extent 
to which budgets reflect the different roles that men and women 
play in the economy. Both women and men contribute to the economy, 
but are neither equally distributed across sectors nor equally 
remunerated for their labor. For example, women's unpaid domestic 
labor and reproductive work maintains the social framework and the 
future labor force, but is rarely formally recognized as a 
contribution to the economy. Aiming to influence budget decision- 
making, GB initiatives propose resource re-allocations to close 
gender gaps and to address the unmet needs of women and girls. 
Women's rights activists will share the results of the GB study 
with parliamentarians and use the findings to advocate for gender 
equality: in budget allocations. 
 
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THE PLAYERS 
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6. The Kuwait Economic Society was established in 1970 to 
encourage scientific research to contribute to economic 
development in Kuwait. The KES cooperates with foreign and 
international organizations to further its objectives of economic 
liberalization. The KES is a force for much-needed reform of the 
Kuwaiti economy and is one of the Embassy's best economic contact 
organizations. The KES hosts monthly seminars to discuss economic 
and social developments in Kuwait, as well as bi-annual 
conferences addressing key economic issues such as the WTO, 
privatization, and the oil industry. Most importantly from the 
perspective of this project, the KES regularly participates in the 
legislative process pertaining to the economy; the National 
Assembly consults with the KES on draft laws dealing with economic 
issues. 
 
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THE PLAN 
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7. The KES estimates it will take 6 months to complete the study. 
They envision using a four-person team to perform the budget 
analysis: one outside technical consultant (Ms. Debbie Budlender), 
one primary researcher, one research assistant and one 
administrative assistant to provide office support. The 
information gathering and administrative work will all be done by 
local staff; the outside consultant will spend approximately one 
month in country gathering and analyzing the data. The consultant 
will return once the report is completed to present the results. 
 
8. KES has requested Debbie Budlender of Cape Town, South Africa, 
a well-known consultant on gender budgeting studies, to serve as 
the outside technical consultant for this project. 
 
9. Post requests a grant of $35,350.00 to cover costs associated 
with this project. The Democracy Small Grant will cover the costs 
detailed below: 
 
Total for Technical Consultant (Ms. Debbie Budlender): $17,050 
     Airplane tickets:        $2,500 
     Per diem:                $9,000 
     Accommodation:           $5,250 
     Local Transportation:    $300 
 
Researcher:    $6,000 
Research Assistant (data collection and entry):   $3,500 
Administrator: $2,750 
Books/Printing material/publication: $2,500 
Budget Analysis Technical Software: $750 
Report translation: $1,800 
Miscellaneous: $500 
 
GRAND TOTAL: $35,350.00 
 
Post requests full funding for this project.  Thanks and regards. 
 
 
MORAN