![Al-Raida [The Pioneer] is a feminist journal published by the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University](http://www.alraidajournal.com/public/journals/1/pageHeaderLogoImage_en_US.png)
Keywords
Constitutional rights
How to Cite
Abstract
On May 16th, 1999, Sheikh Jaber AI-Ahmed AI-Subah, the Emir of Kuwait, issued a decree granting women the right to vote and run for public office, "in appreciation of the effective and important role played by Kuwaiti women." With Kuwait having the only elected parliament in the Gulf, this move heralded a substantial step in the process of "democratization". Nevertheless, the Kuwaiti experience with democratization took a different turn, on November 30th, 1999, when the Kuwaiti parliament rejected this decree, depriving women thereby from their full constitutional rights, the right to become first-class citizens in their own country.
References
Badran, Margot, "Gender, Islam, and the State - Kuwaiti Women in Struggle, Pre-Invasion to Postliberation", in Islam, Gender and Social Change, ed.
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and John L. Esposito, Oxford University Press, 1998, p.190)
Howard, Jon, Democracy in Kuwait Not for Women, December 2, 1999, PMA Newsletter