KUWAIT: Kuwait's parliament gave its initial approval yesterday to a law allowing women to vote and run for the first time in municipal elections in the Gulf Arab state, fuelling hopes for wider female suffrage.
"The National Assembly approves women's participation in the Municipal Council elections," the state news agency Kuna reported. The agency later said the approval covers a first round of voting. Parliament meets again in two weeks for a second vote.
"This step prepares the ground for women's political rights in full at parliament," said deputy prime minister Mohammad Sharar.
Kuwaiti women are barred from participating in parliamentary polls but the government has introduced a Bill to grant full female suffrage that has yet to be approved by the 50-man house. Kuwait was the first Gulf Arab state with an elected parliament but women have been fighting for decades for the right to vote.