The question of extending the voting franchise in Kuwait to Kuwaiti women, and the right for women to hold public office, has recently emerged as a major issue in Kuwaiti politics. It has also become a factor in Kuwait's international image, and therefore in its relations with its neighbors, trading partners, and the world community.
Today, Kuwait is one of only two Arab countries in which women cannot vote (Taheri, 2003). The Kuwaiti constitution does not prohibit women from voting. Article 82 of the constitution states only that "A member of the National Assembly shall be Kuwaiti by origin in accordance with law, and be qualified as an elector in accordance with the electoral law." It is the electoral law, not Kuwait's constitution, which currently bars Kuwaiti women from voting or holding elective office (Kuwaiti Women, 2002). However, an effort to change the electoral law, the Amiri Decree (9/1999) was rejected by the National Assembly (Dilanian, 2004). Since that time, voting for women has remained an unsettled issue in Kuwait (Kessler and Wright, 2004).
2. Current Public Opinion and Media Coverage
Kuwaiti and international public opinion is subject to pressures from various directions. Within Kuwait, concern over American foreign policy has contributed to greater support for Islamist parties (Kessler and Wright, 2004). Often this support comes from women themselves (Taheri, 2003). In turn, this development is often confusing to international observers. On visiting Kuwait, they have found that the views of women there are more complex than they had imagined (League of Women Voters, 2002). However, much Western news coverage of Kuwait remains very one-dimensional.
The basic policy goal of this effort is to extend the vote to Kuwait's women, and to assist the effort by mobilizing public opinion abroad as well as within Kuwait. Specifically, the goal is to do this in a way that respects Kuwaiti customs ...