科威特妇女获全部政治权利_报刊文摘
kuwait grants political rights to its women
cairo, may 16 - kuwait’s parliament granted full political rights to women on monday, making way for them to vote and run for office in parliamentary and local elections for the first time in the country’s history. the surprise amendment to kuwait’s election law ends a decades-long struggle by women’s rights campaigners for full suffrage, and promises to redefine the city-state’s political landscape.
"it has been 20 years of work, but at last we got our rights," said lulua al-mulla, general secretary of kuwait’s social cultural women’s society, a women’s advocacy group. "it is about time."
parliament met monday to discuss legislation introduced two weeks ago allowing women to run in city council elections. but in a surprise move, members of the cabinet opened the session by proposing a complete amendment of the country’s election law, which had permitted only men to take part in the country’s powerful parliament.
the government also invoked a rarely used "order for urgency" to push through the legislation in one session, despite heated debate by islamist members.
by monday evening, legislators had passed an amendment that removes the word "men" from article 1 of the elections law, with 35 voting in favor and 23 against. but islamist legislators, apparently trying to appease their conservative voting base, included a requirement that "females abide by islamic law." the implications of that clause were not immediately clear, though women’s advocates were saying it might just mean separate polling places for men and women.
the state department spokesman, richard a. boucher, welcomed the new legislation, calling it "an important step forward for the women of kuwait and for the nation as a whole."
the vote climaxed an extraordinary turn of events, just two weeks after the parliament had thwarted a measure allowing women to take part in city council elections.
the prime minister, sheik sabah al-jaber al-sabah, a member of kuwait’s ruling family, has been under growing pressure to allow women’s suffrage and is believed to have forced the measure through ahead of a planned trip to washington. he is widely expected to appoint a woman as minister of health in coming weeks.
although women can now run in all elections, the legislation was passed too late for them to run in the council elections next month. the soonest they will be able to run in any election is 2007, when parliamentary elections are scheduled.
辅助阅读：科威特于本周一召开内阁会议，讨论两周前提起的选举法修正案，批准赋予妇女全部政治权利，结束了科威特长达几十年的争取妇女权利的斗争。虽然现在科威特妇女享有选举权与被选举权，但对于下个月就要举行的市议会选举来讲这项法令还是通过得太晚了。她们所能参加的最早的选举是今年的内阁选举。
注：按照科威特现行法律，只有年满18周岁以上的男性公民才享有选举权和被选举权。多年来，科威特妇女一直在为争取获得包括选举权和被选举权在内的政治权利而斗争。1999年，科威特埃米尔曾表示可以考虑赋予妇女选举权，但由于受到议会中保守势力的阻挠而未能实现。今年7月，在科威特第十届国民议会选举中，科威特妇女首次被允许在指定地点进行象征性投票，虽然女性选民的投票不纳入正式计票结果，但这仍被认为是科威特女性在争取权利方面迈出的可喜一步。
cairo, may 16 - kuwait’s parliament granted full political rights to women on monday, making way for them to vote and run for office in parliamentary and local elections for the first time in the country’s history. the surprise amendment to kuwait’s election law ends a decades-long struggle by women’s rights campaigners for full suffrage, and promises to redefine the city-state’s political landscape.
"it has been 20 years of work, but at last we got our rights," said lulua al-mulla, general secretary of kuwait’s social cultural women’s society, a women’s advocacy group. "it is about time."
parliament met monday to discuss legislation introduced two weeks ago allowing women to run in city council elections. but in a surprise move, members of the cabinet opened the session by proposing a complete amendment of the country’s election law, which had permitted only men to take part in the country’s powerful parliament.
the government also invoked a rarely used "order for urgency" to push through the legislation in one session, despite heated debate by islamist members.
by monday evening, legislators had passed an amendment that removes the word "men" from article 1 of the elections law, with 35 voting in favor and 23 against. but islamist legislators, apparently trying to appease their conservative voting base, included a requirement that "females abide by islamic law." the implications of that clause were not immediately clear, though women’s advocates were saying it might just mean separate polling places for men and women.
the state department spokesman, richard a. boucher, welcomed the new legislation, calling it "an important step forward for the women of kuwait and for the nation as a whole."
the vote climaxed an extraordinary turn of events, just two weeks after the parliament had thwarted a measure allowing women to take part in city council elections.
the prime minister, sheik sabah al-jaber al-sabah, a member of kuwait’s ruling family, has been under growing pressure to allow women’s suffrage and is believed to have forced the measure through ahead of a planned trip to washington. he is widely expected to appoint a woman as minister of health in coming weeks.
although women can now run in all elections, the legislation was passed too late for them to run in the council elections next month. the soonest they will be able to run in any election is 2007, when parliamentary elections are scheduled.
辅助阅读：科威特于本周一召开内阁会议，讨论两周前提起的选举法修正案，批准赋予妇女全部政治权利，结束了科威特长达几十年的争取妇女权利的斗争。虽然现在科威特妇女享有选举权与被选举权，但对于下个月就要举行的市议会选举来讲这项法令还是通过得太晚了。她们所能参加的最早的选举是今年的内阁选举。
注：按照科威特现行法律，只有年满18周岁以上的男性公民才享有选举权和被选举权。多年来，科威特妇女一直在为争取获得包括选举权和被选举权在内的政治权利而斗争。1999年，科威特埃米尔曾表示可以考虑赋予妇女选举权，但由于受到议会中保守势力的阻挠而未能实现。今年7月，在科威特第十届国民议会选举中，科威特妇女首次被允许在指定地点进行象征性投票，虽然女性选民的投票不纳入正式计票结果，但这仍被认为是科威特女性在争取权利方面迈出的可喜一步。