Two Steps Forward, One At A Time

From the NYT:

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwaiti women voted and competed for office in parliamentary elections on Thursday for the first time in the Gulf Arab state.

``I don't know how to describe my feelings, I am so happy, it's a beautiful day as women practice their right,'' said female candidate Hind bin al-Shaikh. ``I hope a woman makes it.''

Parliament passed a law in May 2005 giving women the right to vote and stand as candidates in elections for the 50-seat National Assembly of the oil-producing country.

Officials said some 250 candidates were standing, including 28 women determined to make headway against daunting odds and beat seasoned male opponents, many of whom are former parliamentarians seeking re-election.

``The participation of women has added a new spirit to the march of democracy in Kuwait,'' Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah said during a visit to a polling station.

Women can vote and stand for election in four of the six countries in the conservative, patriarchal Gulf Arab region. They are banned in Saudi Arabia, where women's rights are limited, and there are no political polls in the UAE.

``I feel I am going to cry of happiness because it's a historic moment for Kuwait,'' said Diaa al-Saad, 55, one of the first women to vote in Jabriya.

State media reported a heavy turnout of up to 78 percent in some centers but did not give an overall figure. Polls closed at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) and results could trickle in overnight.

Men and women braved temperatures of around 50 Celsius (122 Fahrenheit). They voted in separate stations across the conservative state as Islamists, who reject female suffrage, had demanded.

Campaigners handed out roses to voters or water bottles with candidates' photos printed on them and volunteers offered voters rides to polling stations in golf carts.

``FIERCEST CAMPAIGN''

The poll was called after Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah dissolved parliament last month following a standoff between the government and opposition over electoral reforms.

The opposition accuses some members of government of trying to turn parliament into a rubber-stamp assembly through vote-buying. But officials dismissed the charges and the government says it is committed to reform in Kuwait, a U.S. ally.

Some analysts say they believe the majority of reformist former parliamentarians running will get re-elected.

Ali al-Baghli, a former oil minister, sees the opposition sweeping the polls with 30 seats. ``This will mean more crisis and more escalation with the government,'' he told Reuters.

A report by Washington-based consultancy PFC Energy said the next parliament could pose as many problems for the government as the previous one. ``There is a real sense of uncertainty on this occasion about how the crisis will resolve itself, and the election campaign has been the fiercest in recent memory.''

The opposition is a loose alliance of pro-reform ex-MPs, Islamists and liberals, tolerated in Kuwait which bans parties.

Experts say the powerful conservative Islamists' and tribes' voting hurt chances of women candidates, who say at least one of them may win as women are 57 percent of 340,000 eligible voters.

But even some women were against them having the vote.

``Women should not be in parliament fighting like men,'' said Lamiaa Khaled, 50, a housewife in conservative Islamic attire.

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Lamiaa, may the Goddess guard you. May she open your heart and your mind. May she liberate you. May you know peace.