Posted on 04/20/2005 1:04:49 AM PDT by nickcarraway
KUWAIT — Kuwait’s parliament approved a law yesterday allowing women to vote and run for the first time in municipal elections in the country, fuelling hopes for wider female suffrage.
“The National Assembly approves women’s participation in the Municipal Council elections,” state news agency Kuna reported.
Kuwaiti women are not allowed to vote or run in parliamentary polls but the government has introduced a bill to grant full female suffrage that has yet to be approved by the 50-man house.
Last month, Kuwaiti lawmakers passed a municipal elections law without a government-proposed article to let women participate, setting back hopes the house would approve broader female suffrage.
Yesterday, 26 MPs out of 49 in attendance backed the bill allowing women to take part in municipal elections. Twenty lawmakers were against while three abstained, Kuna said.
“The amended draft stated ... that women will have the right to run, vote and be appointed as Municipal Council members,” it said. Six council members would be appointed by the state.
Parliament also approved a postponement of municipal polls by no more than six months, but did not immediately say why.
Some hardline MPs have said they would back the right of women to vote but not to run in parliamentary polls. Other conservative or tribal lawmakers oppose the bill altogether.
ping
Yeap - the decay is much too pervasive to be labelled a woman or male thing.
kuwait is probably the only spit of land in the middle east that might actually have some hope of pulling away from the radicals
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