Kuwait: 'Oh No! Not Again!'

KUWAIT: Women's second battle for seats in an all male bastion, was met with defeat in every district. This left many Kuwaiti women feeling frustrated and bewildered. "Frankly, I am angry and sick to my stomach because of this election. I really believed this would be the year of the women and that at least one would win." said Iqbal Al-Nasser.

After Kuwaiti women incurred heavy losses in 2006, they hoped to elect the first female MP at least this year. "I believed we would have a woman MP today and I think many of us went into the elections with a very positive attitude; so it is disappointing," said Nouriya Al-Gharib. "We were energized and excited at the start. I thought it would turn out differently - we all did," said third district voter Aya Al-Maatouq.

She also added, "Since the women made a poor show in 2006, we imagined past experience would lead them to victory on Saturday.Twenty-seven women ran for Parliament in 2006 and a similar number contested the elections on Saturday. The highest number of female candidates were from the third district. Eleven women contested from the third constituency which is often referred to as 'Little Kuwait' owing to its diversity.

Third district candidates ranged from Islamist Salafists , Muslim Brotherhood, Independents and liberals. It was an ideal location for female candidates who faced fewer obstacles than their male counterparts in the conservative tribal and Islamist constituencies. "The third district is where we thought it would happen - and it almost did," said Amal Al-Rashid who voted at the predominantly tribal fourth district.

She said, "Women will be elected to office 20 years from now. My daughters may see a woman elected from the fourth district when they grow-up. But the third district will definitely see a woman elected in the next elections - Inshallah!Third district candidate Aseel Al-Awadhi received 5,173 votes which placed her eleventh, just shy of the tenth place. Had she received 6,058 votes, she would have become the first female MP.

She had allied with several other candidates from the National Democratic Alliance, leading some voters to believe that she stood a better chance than other female candidates. None of them received support from any particular political bloc, "What's great about Aseel is that she received a substantial number of votes in her first campaign. She may fare better in the next election." said Mai Al-Mansour.

If you want me to say that I am thinking about the next elections, I cannot. I am just frustrated and sad." said Al-Awadhi supporter Fauziya Al-Odah who noted, "Even with the support of the alliance she lost.-. we lost.

Many third district women who spoke to Kuwait Times had pinned their hopes on Rola Dashti. Dashti, who garnered 4464 votes was placed in 13th, position. She received the highest number of votes in the 2006 and has been a regular at the political scene as an activist, before women gained suffrage. "I am sad for Kuwait and also confused. I believed Rola would be certainly elected." said Fatema Al-Rekhayes.

She added, "Rola did not get the support from voters that she deserves. She would have made a brilliantMP.Shroq Al-Yehya commented on the defeat, "Not again... I will mourn today. But tomorrow we will bounce back. I know we will elect women, it is only a matter of when.

By Ahmad Al-Khalid, Staff writer for Kuwait Times