US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT2924

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 002924 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARPI AND NEA/PI; CAIRO FOR PDAS CHENEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KDEM, KWMN, KMPI, KU 
SUBJECT: KUWAITIS STILL CELEBRATING WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE AND 
GOK APPOINTMENTS; PDAS CHENEY MEETS SOME OF THE REVELERS 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 2900 
 
     B. KUWAIT 2869 
     C. KUWAIT 2212 
 
1.  (U)  More than one month after the historic decision 
granting women full political rights and the subsequent GOK 
appointment of one woman to the Council of Ministers and two 
women to the Municipal Council, Kuwaitis continue to 
celebrate the achievements with receptions, symposia, and 
other almost weekly events.  In the past week, Emboffs 
attended a reception in honor of Minister of Planning and 
Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs Dr. 
Ma'souma Al-Mubarak and a gala hosted by a consortium of 
educational and human rights organizations.  A recurring 
theme at the events, which brought together Sunni and Shi'a, 
men and women, and the veiled and unveiled, was the need for 
civic education to encourage women to take full advantage of 
their new rights.  NEA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary 
Elizabeth Cheney, who visited Kuwait June 24-25, participated 
in three civil society events during which she congratulated 
women on their recent political victories and restated U.S. 
support for Kuwait's political transformation and offered 
training if desired. 
 
Lunch at the Dashti's 
--------------------- 
 
2. (U)  Leading women's activist Dr. Rola Dashti, who is 
already planning her campaign for a 2007 parliamentary seat, 
hosted PDAS Cheney and a group of 20 women for lunch at her 
home in Surra.  Cheney expressed admiration for the Kuwaiti 
women who waged a long campaign for their political rights 
and also fielded questions from local media on a variety of 
topics from political reform in Kuwait to the Iranian 
presidential elections.  Cheney engaged a group of women 
ranging from fully-covered Shi'a Khadija Al-Mahmaid, a PhD 
candidate who spoke of her own intentions to run for 
Parliament, to the unveiled international law expert, Dr. 
Badria Al-Awadi, in a discussion of next steps for Kuwaiti 
women. The group had conflicting views on whether women would 
actually vote for female candidates. They spoke of the need 
to engage the large number of politically apathetic women, 
especially those outside the capital, whose votes may go to 
Islamist candidates likely to rely on spousal pressure to 
influence women's electoral decisions.  They also addressed 
the need for electoral redistricting to limit vote-buying. 
All welcomed training and assistance from the U.S. and many 
spoke highly of the MEPI-funded campaign training workshop 
administered by NDI in March and April. 
 
Women Praise U.S. Support, Cold to Election Monitors 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
3. (U)  PDAS Cheney told a group of approximately 30 women at 
the Women's Cultural and Social Society that the U.S. is 
looking at ways to support women's full political 
participation by offering candidate training, polling 
assistance and seminars allowing politically active women 
from around the region to share their experiences. She then 
opened the floor to Q&A. Participants thanked the U.S. for 
its unwavering support leading up to the May 16 vote, and 
several attendees repeated the refrain calling for increased 
political awareness among marginalized women. 
 
4. (U)  When asked what role the U.S. would play in the 2007 
elections, PDAS Cheney explained that the U.S. could assist 
in voter education activities through MEPI, provide training 
to Kuwaiti organizations to poll watch or organize 
international observers were Kuwait to request them, a 
comment not well received by some participants. One woman 
predicted the presence of international observers "would 
bring chaos," adding that "Kuwait is different" and unlike 
Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine, countries hosting observers in 
recent elections. The media ran several stories based on the 
misinterpretation of the comment (ref A). 
 
5. (U)  Cardiologist to the Prime Minister Dr. Farida 
Al-Habib, who made clear her opposition to election 
observers, nevertheless responded in an Arabic daily to 
attacks by National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi on the 
election observer comment. Al-Habib clarified that the PDAS 
offered the international observers, which would not include 
Americans, as one of many options available to Kuwait to 
assist with the 2007 elections. Al-Khorafi had stated 
publicly that PDAS' remark was an insult to a country with 
the oldest working parliament in the Gulf. 
 
Students Call for More Exchange Programs 
---------------------------------------- 
 
6.  (U)  PDAS Cheney also meet with a group of young people 
from the Kuwait Economic Society and 15 high school students 
active in the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) exchange program 
for high school juniors.  All spoke positively of their 
experiences in the U.S., argued that continued exposure to 
U.S. values and practices would promote greater economic and 
political reform in Kuwait, and recommended the establishment 
of short-term summer exchange programs for youth from more 
conservative families whose parents would likely object to an 
entire year abroad.  PDAS Cheney emphasized that the U.S. 
remains open to visitors and praised the students for helping 
to bridge the gaps between the U.S. and the Middle East. 
 
7.  (U)  PDAS Cheney did not clear this message. 
 
********************************************* 
Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
 
You can also access this site through the 
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website 
********************************************* 
TUELLER