Public Office only for men, say Kuwaiti fundamentalists

Fundamentalists in Kuwait are urging women not to participate in Parliamentary elections either as candidates or voters because it ‘un-Islamic’. The polls begin this Saturday.

According to the Voice of America, members of the Islamic Salafi party are particularly insistent that women should not appear as candidates because public office is only meant for men. Their version of Islam does not permit women to attain public office, said Walid al-Tabtabaei , a candidate and member of the Salafi party. He also said that only men were prophets for a reason and Islam holds that the burden of public office is too great for women to bear. But opposition like this has not deterred women like Aseel al-Awadi from running for a seat in Parliament. This university professor of Philosophy said, “I think women have to have a seat in parliament. It is about time that women have a role in politics in general. Practically speaking women should have representation in parliament, this is one reason. Another reason is [that] I am capable of doing something different in parliament given my credentials.” Currently there is a quota system in effect in Kuwait’s parliament which is meant to ensure broader participation of women in public affairs. The quota system is under fire as critics debate its ‘fairness’ quotient, claiming that members must earn the right to participate in Parliament and should not be given it on account of their gender, reports The Kuwait Times. Kuwait gave women the right to vote and run for office in 2005. Kuwait Times reports that only 19 of the 282 candidates are women this year.