MIDDLE EAST: Women's status up in Saudi Arabia, down in Syria, says study

The subject of women's rights in the Middle East is contentious. Sensational media coverage of honor killings and child brides equates religious conservatism with gender inequality, incensing Western feminists on the one hand and provoking regional backlashes on the other.

The reality is far more nuanced, according to the the 2009 Global Gender Gap Report released in late October by the World Economic Forum, which ranks countries based on women's economic participation, educational attainment, health and political empowerment.

In Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar -- socially conservative Persian Gulf countries that all rely on some form of Sharia Islamic law -- more women than men enroll in higher education, although they have yet to be fully incorporated into the workforce. 

Syria, on the other hand, which is ruled by a nominally secular regime, has slid in the rankings for the last three years. 

Iran scores low in the fields of economic, educational and health equality, but performs relatively well on political empowerment. 

Saudi Arabia and Egypt still hover near the bottom of the list, but have improved steadily since 2006. 

Yemen remained the lowest-ranked country in the world for the fourth year in a row.

KUWAIT, EGYPT: Censors pull plug on shows that mock politicians

Kuwaiti and Egyptian censors recently banned two television shows because they satirized prominent political figures, said the Cairo-based group the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, or ANHRI, in a statement.

According to the organization, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information banned the program "Soatak Wasal" ("Your Voice Is Heard") because it was "offensive" to Kuwaiti officials. 

The comedy makes fun of Kuwaiti officials. Apparently, a sketch mocking Kuwaiti lawmakers and Cabinet members was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Shortly afterward, Egypt clamped down on "Hokuma Show" ("Cabinet Show") after Prime Minister Ahmed Nazief was criticized in an episode. 

KUWAIT: Groom's 'scorned' ex-wife suspected in deadly wedding blaze

At least 43 women and children died Saturday night when a fire broke out in a women's wedding tent, and now several local newspapers are reporting that the 23-year-old ex-wife of the groom may have started the fire in an act of revenge against her former husband and his new bride.

The headline of the Kuwait Times today read, "'Scorned' Woman Unleashed Fury." The accompanying article said authorities had arrested the suspect after her maids claimed to have seen her setting fire to the tent with kerosene.

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KUWAIT: In a first, four women elected to parliament

Some great news for women in the conservative Persian Gulf: Kuwaitis elected their first-ever women lawmakers [second item] to parliament. 

Voters in four districts elevated women into parliamentary jobs. It's believed to be the first time women have been elected to serve as lawmakers in any of the oil-rich Gulf monarchies.

Kuwaiti women were only granted the right to vote in 2005.

"It's a victory for Kuwaiti women and a victory for Kuwaiti democracy," lawmaker Aseel Awadhi, a philosophy professor, said after winning a seat. 

KUWAIT: Heading to the polls, yet again

Kuwaiti voters headed to the polls today for the third time in three years to elect a new parliament amid an economic downturn that has spurred some to reconsider the Persian Gulf kingdom's experiment in democracy.

Kuwait's ruling emir dissolved parliament earlier this year, accusing it of unnecessarily blocking a series of reforms that he said would  make the economy more efficient, and for going after members of the royal family for alleged corruption.

KUWAIT: Female candidates face pressure in upcoming elections

A crucial civil rights battle was won in Kuwait when women were allowed to run for office and vote in 2005. But apparently much still needs to be done for women seeking a political role in this oil-rich emirate to prevail over religious conservatives.

On Monday, the Salafi movement, which believes in a strict fundamental interpretation of Islam, called for the boycott of female candidates in parliamentary elections scheduled for later this month, reported the website of the Arab TV channel Al Arabiya.

The group’s statements were condemned by civil rights groups in the Persian Gulf nation, which boasts one of the most democratic systems among neighboring kingdoms. 

Fuhaid Hailam, a Salafi politician, told the channel that voting for women was a “sin” in Islam. He based his judgment on a saying by the prophet Muhammad, who reportedly asserted that a nation will not prosper if it is led by women.

Although women have been granted full rights to take part in Kuwait’s general elections, as long as they adhere to Islamic law, their participation in political life is still very modest. According to a report by Freedom House released last year, 27 women ran as candidates in the 2006 and 2008 parliamentary elections. But none of the female candidates have won a seat in the country’s National Assembly so far.

The international pro-democracy group also noted that only 35% of Kuwaiti women voted in the 2008 elections. In a response to the conservative stance of the Salafi movement, parliamentary candidate Fatima Abdeli, an advocate for women rights who ran in the two previous elections, told Al Arabiya:

"Kuwaiti laws that gave women the right to run for parliament are not against Islamic laws.… This fatwa will harm women candidates and the Kuwaiti people might be deceived by it. We are not going to stand still while this happens. Women should not be told what to do."

Some observers believe that women might have better chances in this year’s elections.

The Kuwaiti parliament was dissolved in March after political tension between the legislative and executive powers. 

-- Raed Rafei in Beirut

Photo: Masouma Mubarak, a parliamentary candidate and Kuwait's first female minister, enters the registrar department in Kuwait City in April to apply for official documents to run in upcoming elections. Credit: Stephanie McGehee / Reuters

KUWAIT: Political dissidents accused of slamming ruling family released

                

Kuwaiti authorities released two political dissidents after holding them for several days for criticizing the ruling family in public, according to media reports. The two, former member of parliament Daifallah Buramia and municipal council member Khalifa al Kharafi, were running as candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The arrests reflect the crisis in democracy that Kuwait is facing these days. This small, oil-rich nation is often hailed for having an elected parliament, a rarity among autocratic Persian Gulf kingdoms. But tolerance toward political dissidents apparently has limits, especially when the ruling family is attacked. 

On Sunday, Kharafi was arrested by state security. Local media reported that Kharafi was being questioned for saying that the Sabah family was incapable of running the country. Nevertheless, Kharafi was then allowed from behind prison bars to sign up as a candidate in the new elections scheduled for May.

Buramia, who was a member in the previous Islamist parliamentary bloc, was also arrested last week for reportedly saying during an election rally recently that Defense Minister Sheik Jabar al Hamad al Sabah, a close relative of the nation’s ruler, was “not fit” to become prime minister.

The arrests may be a sign that the Kuwaiti ruling family is toughening its stance against political opponents at the height of electoral campaigning.

Democracy in Kuwait often suffers from bickering between the legislative powers and the Cabinet, which is partly a reflection of persisting feudal mentalities. In March, for the second time in less than a year -- and after yet another political crisis in the country -- Kuwait’s emir, Sheik Sabah al Ahmed al Jabar al Sabah, who holds wide powers, disbanded the parliament and called for anticipated elections next month.

The standoff between Islamist legislators and members of the Sabah clan who usually dominate Kuwaiti cabinets is expected to persist after the elections on May 16.

Many fear that ongoing political tensions will hinder the implementation of economic reforms in the country, which has been  hit by the international financial crunch and falling oil prices. 

-- Raed Rafei in Beirut

Photo: Kuwaiti former Islamist opposition lawmaker Daifallah Buramia, center, speaks to the media as security forces arrive to arrest him in Kuwait City last week. Buramia was released today,  according to media reports. Credit: Yasser al Zayyat / AFP 

KUWAIT: Emir dissolves parliament amid bickering

The small emirate of Kuwait witnessed a blow to its struggling democracy when the ruler of the oil-rich nation decided to disband the parliament on Wednesday, proving that the implementation of a Western-style democracy in a Persian Gulf region dominated by feudal mentalities remains a challenge.

The decision to dissolve the legislature for the second time in less than a year and call for early elections in two months was the result of an ongoing political crisis between the legislative powers and the Cabinet, at a time when the nation is facing the woes of the economic crisis and falling oil prices.

"The persistence of deference and disputes in the parliamentary life [exposes] national unity and the higher interests of the country to grave risks,” Sheik Sabah al Ahmed al Jabbar al Sabah, Kuwait’s ruler, said in an address to the nation, according to the official news agency, KUNA.

MIDDLE EAST: Iran, Lebanon, Jordan upgrade air power

Iranian media quoted Air Force chief Brig. Gen. Ahmad Mighani as telling reporters that the Islamic Republic has set up a new military branch devoted exclusively to air defenses that will be in charge of guarding Iran's nuclear sites from potential Israeli or U.S. air attacks.

The branch, called the Name of the Holy Prophet Command, will draw together all the antiaircraft systems, surveillance gear, radar and missiles from the country's regular military branch as well as the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under one umbrella with a mandate "to enhance and expand combat capabilities of the country's air defense unit," said Mighani, according to a report published on the website of Iran's English-language Press TV news channel.

"To counter the enemy's advanced military equipment, we should be equipped with state-of-the-art air defense technology," Mighani said.