Gulf States: Gulf states between 'conservatism and change'

Conservative oil-rich Gulf monarchies need to introduce political reform and modernise their education systems as part of a comprehensive programme of change, regional experts say.

Gulf Arab states have undergone social change brought about by economic development, such as women's entry into the workforce, Saudi academic Khalid Al Dakhil told a conference in Abu Dhabi organised by the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research. What remains conspicuously absent in most of them is "political reform as part of a comprehensive reform programme", said Dakhil in a paper read on his behalf.

The three-day conference began on Monday under a theme which places the region "between conservatism and change". Speakers agreed that the emirate of Kuwait has gone further than any of its other Gulf Arab neighbours in democratising.

But Kuwaiti political science professor Abdullah Al Shayiji cautioned that "the Kuwaiti model touted as a prototype is facing a lot of challenges". Kuwait's Emir dissolved Parliament in March after a stand-off between the elected house and the government, and he called early polls for May.

Bahrain also has an elected parliament but it is counterbalanced by an appointed Upper House, while other Gulf states have consultative rather than legislative assemblies.

Political parties remain banned across the region, although political groups operate as de facto parties in Kuwait and Bahrain. "Gulf societies are outpacing the political regimes on the road to reform," Dakhil said.

And moves toward reform "appear to be in response to external pressures rather than to pressing internal social and political needs," he added in an apparent reference to US pressure on regional governments.

Saad Al Ajmi, a Kuwaiti liberal political activist and former information minister, said the conference's name should have placed the Gulf "between backwardness and change."

Conservatism does not preclude change, he argued, as evidenced by the record of conservative leaders such as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Ajmi said religion should be taught separately from school curricula in the Muslim Gulf region.

"Qualitative education" cannot be achieved by including Islamic teachings in the curricula of under-10-year-olds, he argued. Bahraini former education minister Ali Fakhro called for "fundamental modernisation" of the education system as part of a comprehensive modernisation drive.

The question of whether modernising education is a prelude to modernising society and politics or vice versa will remain a matter of debate, Fakhro said.

-- Agence France-Presse