US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT1200

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001200 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI BERNS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, KWMN, PHUM, KU, WOMEN'S POLITICAL RIGHTS 
SUBJECT: KUWAITI VOTING RIGHTS WEEK IN REVIEW: FATWA 
REAFFIRMS AMIR'S JURISDICTION, WOMEN LAUNCH GRASSROOTS 
PETITION 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 1091 
     B. KUWAIT 944 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. Summary: As the parliamentary review of the draft 
legislation granting women political rights moves slowly 
forward, Islamist MPs are making their supporting and 
opposing views known. The Ambassador continues to hear from 
his contacts that the GOK will succeed in efforts to grant 
women suffrage. As expected, the fatwa committee reaffirmed 
the Amir's rule over voting issues despite opposition from 
some religious scholars. In addition, women have begun to 
drum up grassroots support from citizens to convince 
undecided MPs to vote in favor of extending voting rights. 
Meanwhile, a new poll will measure the amount of support 
among Kuwaiti women, many of whom remain against or 
indifferent to becoming a voting constituency. 
 
Parliamentary Update 
-------------------- 
 
2. (U) The National Assembly Interior and Defense Committee 
studying the GOK's draft legislation granting women's 
suffrage will reconvene March 26 to discuss the matter as a 
precursor to a full parliamentary vote. State Minister for 
Cabinet Affairs Mohammed Sharar announced that he would 
represent the GOK in the meeting.  Committee Chairman MP 
Rashed Al-Hubaidah stated that the committee would discuss 
the bill along with proposals to extend voting to men in the 
security services and those between 18 and 21. Newspapers 
report that 13 MPs publicly support women's voting rights 
while another 15 are officially undecided. 
 
Islamists on Both Sides of Women's Voting Rights Issue 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
3. (U) Poloff and FSN Political Assistant attended a 
student-sponsored seminar at Kuwait University March 20 
during which independent Islamist MP Faisal Al-Mussallam, who 
opposes women's suffrage, questioned the timing of the voting 
rights issue at a time when the legislative agenda is already 
full. In his characteristically animated tone, Al-Mussallam 
accused the GOK of trying to appease the U.S. before "Bush's 
shoe reaches us (the Kuwaitis)." He also claimed that the 
U.S. is frustrated that more Kuwaiti women are not 
enthusiastically supporting voting rights. According to 
Al-Mussallam, 34 MPs oppose women's voting, enough to defeat 
the measure. Another Islamist participant, Mohammed Alajami, 
a representative of the Nation's Party (Hizb al-Ummah) which 
defends women's rights, said, "Nothing will change if women 
vote except the number of voters." 
 
4. (U) MP Fahad Al-Khanna, leader of the Parliament's Islamic 
Bloc and vehement opponent of women's political rights, 
warned the GOK that continued pressure on MPs to support 
voting rights could jeopardize future cooperation between his 
group and the Government. During a Bloc meeting March 21, He 
criticized the Government's use of state media outlets to 
campaign for women's rights since official media represents 
all Kuwaitis, many of whom oppose women's rights. 
 
Insights from Ambassador's Contacts 
----------------------------------- 
 
5. (SBU) During a March 22 meeting with the Ambassador, MFA 
Director of International Organizations  Ambassador Abdullah 
Al-Murad, who just returned from meetings in Italy and 
Jordan, commented, "Everywhere I go people ask me why Kuwaiti 
women can't vote."  He was somewhat surprised by the 
international attention the issue has attracted, but like 
most GOK officials, predicted the bill would pass before the 
end of April.  Likewise, he suggested the U.S. maintain a 
low-profile on the matter. 
 
6. (C) A prominent Kuwaiti businessman told Ambassador that 
he recommended to the Prime Minister that he fire a cabinet 
minister and appoint two new ones to ensure that the GOK has 
enough votes to pass the women's rights legislation. (Note: 
The Minister of Information position is currently vacant. End 
note.) The businessman recounted that the PM dismissed his 
plan outright, assuring him that the Government already has 
the votes to succeed. With regard to cabinet shuffle rumors, 
a former minister and current advisor to the PM, Yousef 
Al-Ibrahim, told the Ambassador that Finance Minister Mahmud 
Al-Nuri inevitably will resign for health reasons so there 
will be some cabinet shift, but he did not predict timing or 
link to the women's political rights bill. 
 
Fatwa Reflects Societal Split 
----------------------------- 
 
7. (U) As anticipated (ref A), the Kuwaiti Ministry of Awqaf 
and Islamic Affairs released a fatwa March 19 which 
reaffirmed that the Amir is entrusted to rule on the subject 
of women's political rights. The nine religious scholars who 
composed the fatwa panel split into three camps, which 
reflects the complexity of the voting rights issue. The first 
group believed Kuwaiti women are entitled to full political 
rights whereas another supported a woman's right to vote, but 
not seek elected office. The third group opposed women's 
participation in the political process. The GOK repeatedly 
has declared its support for nothing short of full political 
rights for women. 
 
8. (U) Scientific Salafi MP Dr. Waleed Al-Tabtabaie requested 
that the fatwa panel interpret the five Sharia conditions 
accompanying the edict. The conditions, derived from Dr. 
Iqbal Al-Mutawa's book, "Understanding Politics in the Light 
of Qu'ran and Sunna," stipulate that women participating in 
Parliament: wear a hijab, may not be in closed meetings only 
with men, must not travel unless accompanied by a relative, 
must not allow political responsibilities to prevent them 
from performing familial duties, and should adhere to Islamic 
morals. 
 
Women Organize to Garner Grassroots Support 
------------------------------------------- 
 
9. (U) National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi urged 
women to organize their efforts to succeed in gaining 
political rights. At a March 16 women's gathering at the 
Assembly, Al-Khorafi criticized the March 7 pro-rights rally 
(ref B) as poorly coordinated.  According to an 
English-language daily, he regretted ordering the removal of 
all visitors from the Parliament's public gallery after 
spectators applauded remarks from MP Mohammed Al-Saqer. 
Al-Khorafi claimed he was only maintaining the dignity of 
parliamentary procedures. 
 
10. (U) Whether organizers heeded Al-Khorafi's call or 
recognized the need themselves, pro-rights activists, led by 
Dr. Rola Dashti of the Kuwait Economic Society, launched a 
door-to-door campaign March 21 to collect signatures of 
citizen supporters of women's rights in an attempt to sway 
the opinion of undecided MPs. The petition declares support 
for women to vote and run for political office. She told a 
local newspaper that the women's rights legislation needs two 
or three more votes to pass. 
 
New Poll to Measure Women's Viewpoint 
------------------------------------- 
 
11. (U) In order to gauge Kuwaiti women's true stance on the 
voting issue, the Kuwait Journalist Association will conduct 
a poll March 28 asking Kuwaiti women at least 18 years old 
whether or not they support full political rights for women. 
Conventional wisdom indicates a largely unenthusiastic female 
population either opposes political rights or is 
apathetically indifferent. 
 
Macabre Example of Gender Equity 
-------------------------------- 
 
12. (U) For the first time, Kuwaiti courts have sentenced a 
Kuwaiti female to death. Police arrested the woman and four 
others for drug offenses after a sting operation. The woman 
pleaded innocent to charges of selling narcotics, including 
hashish. She and one Egyptian male conspirator were sentenced 
to death by hanging, the only form of capital punishment in 
Kuwait. 
 
 
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LEBARON