Kuwaiti Women Vote for the First Time

Women voted for the first time in Kuwait on Tuesday in a election for the representatives of Kuwait council. 28,000 people, out of which 16,000 women, have casted their vote for the six men and two women, namely the 32-year-old Jenan Boushehri, a chemical engineer at the Kuwait Municipality, and the 48-year-old Khalida Khader, a US-educated physician and a mother of eight children.

Among the 8 candidates are also two women who run for the seat in the Salmiya district, south of the capital. "Today is the biggest feast we have been waiting for more than 40 years. This is the first time Kuwaiti women can show the men that we are capable, it is important that we do our best and leave the outcome of the polls to God," said Khaledah al-Khadher, one of the two female candidates.

"Our participation today is good for the nation and is good for the future of Kuwaiti women," Jinan Boushahri, the other female candidate. This historical decision was made last May, when parliament passed a government-sponsored bill which granted women this opportunity, after fighting for their political rights for more than four decades.

The decision ignited some discussions about women's role in politics, some conservative Islamist members of Parliament saying women should be allowed in Parliament with the Islamic hijab, a head covering veil.

Voting was reported to have begun slowly, Tuesday being a working day. Women were required to show their faces for the purposes of identification. Some did not comply with these requests, according to some reports, and refused to remove the Islamic veil, leaving the polling station without voting.