Kuwait Times
Published Date: April 28, 2009
KUWAIT: The first electoral district candidate, Abdullah Mohammed Abdulrahman Al-Traiji said that Kuwaiti women have proven to be effective members of Kuwait's society. "This is not something new that has occurred after women were granted political rights and were allowed to run for parliament," Al-Traiji said. It is due to the open-minded way these women have been bringing up their children that has contributed toward the formation of Kuwait's public opinion. "The Kuwaiti woman has always been a mother, s
ister, wife and grateful daughter who has worked hard to maintain the integrity of her family," he added.
Al-Traiji emphasized that Kuwaiti women should play a prominent role in serving Kuwait by fully observing Kuwait's religion, traditions, values, ethics and customs. "Along with their male fellow citizens, Kuwaiti women have withstood firmly the violation of Kuwait's sovereignty during Saddam's invasion in 1990," he said.
Al-Traiji further highlighted that the presence of Kuwaiti women in the forthcoming elections, both as voters and candidates would surely have a good and positive impact on the electoral process. "Kuwaiti women are more far-sighted and capable of making better choices these days," he added. "Yet, they still face great challenges and prove their effectiveness by selecting and voting only for the best. The fact that the total number of female voters outnumber the male by at least 25 percent surely indicates
how capable they will be in forming the next parliament by directing the elections process," he said.
Al-Traiji added that he chose his electoral campaign slogan to be 'You Can if You Will, a choice seconded by several visits to various diwaniyas in the first electoral district. There, he said, he detected voters' complete dissatisfaction with the relation between the legislative and executive powers. "I always told voters that lawmakers were the direct result of voters' choices and that if a voter had real willingness to make a change and achieve reform, he or she can surely do that easily," he said.
Speaking about his electoral campaign agenda, Al-Traiji said that it will focus on three basic issues: security, economy and administration. In his words, those three issues would form the basis of solving all problems Kuwaiti citizens have been experiencing. "Leniency in handling various security, economic and administrative issues and laziness in dealing with them constitutionally and scientifically led to an accumulation of dangerous problems and threats to Kuwait's present and future," he said.
The government's policy on these issues has been so helpless and hesitant. In most cases, it could best be described as negligent and indifferent." Such a train of events has paved the way for more popular unconstitutional calls among some MPs which, negatively affects inter-powers relations.
In dwelling on the between-power relations he said, "The controversy raised about women's rights and protecting public funds is the best indicator of how incompetent the legislative and executive branches were in achieving any development for this country." He further added that his agenda aims to address the ways which will help reach well-devised solutions.
Speaking about the government's security deficiency, Al-Traiji accussed that regional security has been unstable for a while and historically, Kuwait had always felt under threat. "Having to share the responsibility of reconstructing Iraq and transforming it into a stable country places more social, economic, political and planning responsibilities on Kuwait," he said. According to him, the bedoons' problem has been one of the most urgent security concerns in Kuwait. "As we see it, the best solution to th
is problem is granting citizenship to those who actually deserve it.
In his words, traffic problems were also part of Kuwait's security concerns that need full coordination with regional and international countries to exchange views and to plan expertise. "I believe one of the solutions to this problem would be to establish a public authority for traffic which will replace the traffic department and will have an independent budget and its own specialized staff," he elaborated.
Health services in Kuwait, Al-Traijin says, gives way only to security. He said that there has been critical shortcomings in health policies set by various governments and that Kuwait's health infrastructure still lacked a lot of change, equipment and staff.
Showing posts with label gender roles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gender roles. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia mulls allowing women to vote
Reuters
RIYADH, April 26 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is considering allowing women to vote in municipal elections this year but they would still be barred from running for office, a senior government official was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest oil exporter and a key ally of the United States. The absolute monarchy applies an austere form of Sunni Islam which bans unrelated men and women from mixing.
Prince Mansour bin Muteb, deputy minister for municipal and rural affairs, made the comments after attending a conference of municipal councils in the Eastern Province, Saudi newspapers reported.
The meeting's recommendations included one that women should be eligible to vote, the liberal-leaning daily al-Watan said.
Officials at the municipal and rural affairs ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.
Only eligible males voted in municipal elections in 2005 which were the desert kingdom's first ever nationwide polls since the state's inception in 1932.
The election for half the seats on the councils was part of a series of reforms undertaken after the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001 focused international attention on Saudi Arabia's political and religious culture. Most of the attackers were Saudi, acting in the name of the Islamist group al Qaeda.
The meeting in the Eastern Province, the first indication that the municipal vote will take place this year, recommended that the government continues to name half the members of the council, al-Watan said. (Reporting by Souhail Karam)
RIYADH, April 26 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is considering allowing women to vote in municipal elections this year but they would still be barred from running for office, a senior government official was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest oil exporter and a key ally of the United States. The absolute monarchy applies an austere form of Sunni Islam which bans unrelated men and women from mixing.
Prince Mansour bin Muteb, deputy minister for municipal and rural affairs, made the comments after attending a conference of municipal councils in the Eastern Province, Saudi newspapers reported.
The meeting's recommendations included one that women should be eligible to vote, the liberal-leaning daily al-Watan said.
Officials at the municipal and rural affairs ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.
Only eligible males voted in municipal elections in 2005 which were the desert kingdom's first ever nationwide polls since the state's inception in 1932.
The election for half the seats on the councils was part of a series of reforms undertaken after the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001 focused international attention on Saudi Arabia's political and religious culture. Most of the attackers were Saudi, acting in the name of the Islamist group al Qaeda.
The meeting in the Eastern Province, the first indication that the municipal vote will take place this year, recommended that the government continues to name half the members of the council, al-Watan said. (Reporting by Souhail Karam)
Friday, April 10, 2009
Saudi Arabia: Hardliners want Saudi woman minister sacked
Gulfnews
By Abdul Nabi Shaheen, Correspondent
Published: April 09, 2009, 22:56
Riyadh: A group of hardliners has initiated a campaign to have Saudi Arabia's first woman minister, Norah Al Fayez sacked.
Unsettled about the kingdom's new call for reform, the group approached Shaikh Saleh Al Laheedan, a member of the Senior Scholars' Commission which is the highest religious body in Saudi Arabia and former chairman of the Supreme Judiciary Council to exercise his influence to have Deputy Education Minister Fayez removed from her post.
The hardliners went to meet the shaikh after gathering at a mosque in Riyadh on Wednesday.
During their meeting, they tried to impress on Shaikh Laheedan the necessity of reviewing the changes made in the supervision of the girls' education department and bring it back under the control of Islamic scholars and shaikhs.
The same group recently urged Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja to ban women from appearing on TV, newspapers or magazines.
Sheikh Laheedan assured the group that their concerns would be addressed.
By Abdul Nabi Shaheen, Correspondent
Published: April 09, 2009, 22:56
Riyadh: A group of hardliners has initiated a campaign to have Saudi Arabia's first woman minister, Norah Al Fayez sacked.
Unsettled about the kingdom's new call for reform, the group approached Shaikh Saleh Al Laheedan, a member of the Senior Scholars' Commission which is the highest religious body in Saudi Arabia and former chairman of the Supreme Judiciary Council to exercise his influence to have Deputy Education Minister Fayez removed from her post.
The hardliners went to meet the shaikh after gathering at a mosque in Riyadh on Wednesday.
During their meeting, they tried to impress on Shaikh Laheedan the necessity of reviewing the changes made in the supervision of the girls' education department and bring it back under the control of Islamic scholars and shaikhs.
The same group recently urged Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja to ban women from appearing on TV, newspapers or magazines.
Sheikh Laheedan assured the group that their concerns would be addressed.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Algeria: Algeria's women like a 'class apart' at the polls
Apr 8, 2009
ALGIERS (AFP) — Nesrine and Rym, two students at a marketing college, have each been to the theatre only once in their lives and almost as rarely to the cinema, seen as a place Algeria's women should not frequent.
Neither will vote in Thursday's presidential election, they told AFP, since they do not expect that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will do much for women on winning a third term, which is a foregone conclusion.
Many Algerian women feel like a class apart, a view reflected in the way city streets empty of all but men after shops and offices close at night, though women form a large part of the workforce.
"Algerian women are subject to a curfew that has never been officially decreed, but which is an crying reality," says 20-year-old Imane Ghezali, the daughter of a journalist and a teacher.
Her parents are modernists by general standards, and Ghezali with her long brown hair seizes occasions to go out without fearing the wrath of the family and social opproprium if she does.
Sometimes she visits the only bowling alley in the whole of the north African country, which is located in an Algiers suburb. But each 30 minutes play there costs 2,000 dinars (27 dollars / 21 euros), which is 15 percent of the national monthly minimum wage.
Pressure on women from Islamic extremists has eased since the 1990s, when Algeria plunged into civil war waged by groups out to turn the secular state into a hardline Islamist one, but most women wear the hidjab, the robe that covers them from head to foot.
For some, given the rising cost of living in the oil-rich but economically distressed nation, the hidjab is a matter of convenience to hide poverty rather than an ostentatious sign of religious belief and means of avoiding "Satanic" lust.
Nesrine and Rym, who wear headscarves and discreet make-up around their eyes and lipstick, are also among those who feel privileged. Their parents, who are architects and teachers, are understanding and allow them to go out.
But go where? The three students say that the few cinemas in Algiers are dodgy venues. Short of places to be on their own together, young Algerians go to the cinema to steal kisses and caresses, but at the risk of being accused of debauchery.
Hopeful men also hang out at such places and the three girls said they prefer to avoid them rather than be hassled afterwards by insistent and creepy courtiers.
There are a few teashops that young Algerian women can go to and where they can also hang out with their boyfriends. However, their prices are too high for much of the population in a country that goes to the polls more concerned about recent inflation than the political aspects of Bouteflika's bid for a third term.
The tea-rooms keep spaces that are "reserved for families," which people know to mean that solitary young men will not be admitted.
But more often than not, young Algerians are resigned to "long-distance love" by mobile phone, Rym told AFP. About 17 million people in the country use cellphones, accounting for roughly a third of the population.
Sarah K, a journalist who works on the culture pages of an Algiers daily, confirmed that when youngsters want to step out, the number of places they can go is "derisory." For the vast majority of girls, family outings are the only ones they get and television is their one source of leisure.
The cafes, mosques and street corners are the nightly preserve of Algerian men.
ALGIERS (AFP) — Nesrine and Rym, two students at a marketing college, have each been to the theatre only once in their lives and almost as rarely to the cinema, seen as a place Algeria's women should not frequent.
Neither will vote in Thursday's presidential election, they told AFP, since they do not expect that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will do much for women on winning a third term, which is a foregone conclusion.
Many Algerian women feel like a class apart, a view reflected in the way city streets empty of all but men after shops and offices close at night, though women form a large part of the workforce.
"Algerian women are subject to a curfew that has never been officially decreed, but which is an crying reality," says 20-year-old Imane Ghezali, the daughter of a journalist and a teacher.
Her parents are modernists by general standards, and Ghezali with her long brown hair seizes occasions to go out without fearing the wrath of the family and social opproprium if she does.
Sometimes she visits the only bowling alley in the whole of the north African country, which is located in an Algiers suburb. But each 30 minutes play there costs 2,000 dinars (27 dollars / 21 euros), which is 15 percent of the national monthly minimum wage.
Pressure on women from Islamic extremists has eased since the 1990s, when Algeria plunged into civil war waged by groups out to turn the secular state into a hardline Islamist one, but most women wear the hidjab, the robe that covers them from head to foot.
For some, given the rising cost of living in the oil-rich but economically distressed nation, the hidjab is a matter of convenience to hide poverty rather than an ostentatious sign of religious belief and means of avoiding "Satanic" lust.
Nesrine and Rym, who wear headscarves and discreet make-up around their eyes and lipstick, are also among those who feel privileged. Their parents, who are architects and teachers, are understanding and allow them to go out.
But go where? The three students say that the few cinemas in Algiers are dodgy venues. Short of places to be on their own together, young Algerians go to the cinema to steal kisses and caresses, but at the risk of being accused of debauchery.
Hopeful men also hang out at such places and the three girls said they prefer to avoid them rather than be hassled afterwards by insistent and creepy courtiers.
There are a few teashops that young Algerian women can go to and where they can also hang out with their boyfriends. However, their prices are too high for much of the population in a country that goes to the polls more concerned about recent inflation than the political aspects of Bouteflika's bid for a third term.
The tea-rooms keep spaces that are "reserved for families," which people know to mean that solitary young men will not be admitted.
But more often than not, young Algerians are resigned to "long-distance love" by mobile phone, Rym told AFP. About 17 million people in the country use cellphones, accounting for roughly a third of the population.
Sarah K, a journalist who works on the culture pages of an Algiers daily, confirmed that when youngsters want to step out, the number of places they can go is "derisory." For the vast majority of girls, family outings are the only ones they get and television is their one source of leisure.
The cafes, mosques and street corners are the nightly preserve of Algerian men.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Kuwait: Kuwaiti officers refuse to salute female superiors
Kuwait (Alarabiya.net)
Male officers in the Kuwaiti army have expressed embarrassment at having to salute female superiors as the interior ministry denied rumors it was considering offering monetary compensation to female officers in return for not demanding to be saluted by male officers.
According to reports in local media, the Ministry of Interior was looking into alternatives after receiving complaints from male officers. One suggestion was to give each female officer an allowance of 50 dinars ($172) in return for not making male officers of lower ranks salute them.
Another option mentioned was to penalize any officers who refuse to abide by military rules, though there were concerns this could potentially lead some men not to join the army and put the ministry in an even more awkward position.
The ministry, however, denied reports it is considering alternatives to the saluting controversy.
"The ministry treats men and woman equally," an official with the ministry, Colonel Mohamed al-Sabr, told AlArabiya.net. "The salute is done in respect to rank and not individuals."
The controversy started with statements by the head of the GCC Sharia Scholars Union Dr. Ajil al-Nashmi in the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Watan where he said women can only join the military in limited circumstances
"Women can join the military in cases like searching other women at the airport or on the borders," he told the paper. "Otherwise, it is not recommended."
Fighting back
" If everyone issues fatwas according to traditions, we'll live in chaos as if we're in a jungle "
Maha al-Berjes, KHRS Deputy ChairmanThe Kuwait Human Rights Society (KHRS) objected to Nashmi's statements, which came two years after women were allowed to join the military.
"This fatwa has no reasoning in religion and violates the principle of equality granted by the constitution," the rights group said in a statement.
It added that while the Gulf emirate is developing and women are making greater contributions in various fields, this fatwa, or religious ruling, tarnishes the country’s image and hinders its growth.
"We have to resist such views. We call upon the authorities to make sure that no fatwas issued are in contradiction to the teachings of Islam or the rights granted by the constitution," the statement said.
KHRS Deputy Chairman Maha al-Berjes objected to fatwas based on customs and traditions and not religion.
"If everyone issues fatwas according to traditions, we'll live in chaos as if we're in a jungle," she said.
Berjes also denied that KHRS only supports the more liberal members of Kuwait’s government.
"We are against all types of violations regardless of political affiliations, and we are not intimidated by criticism from Islamists. Those who work in human rights should not be intimidated," she concluded.
Imported equality
" It is better to stop women from joining the military. This does not suit them physically and their normal place is at home "
professor of Islamic law Dr. Saad al-Anzi Meanwhile, professor of Islamic law Dr. Saad al-Anzi said women should not join the military except in emergencies like during war.
"In this case, the role of women should be confined to offering medical services and not to engage in fighting," he told AlArabiya.net. "They shouldn't mingle with men."
Anzi added that military salutes are not Islamic to begin with and that women should refrain from entering public life.
"It is better to stop women from joining the military. This does not suit them physically and their normal place is at home."
Anzi referred to equality between men and women as a “novelty” imported from the West and stressed that it goes against Islamic laws.
"The idea of equality between men and women needs to be reviewed," he said.
(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid)
Male officers in the Kuwaiti army have expressed embarrassment at having to salute female superiors as the interior ministry denied rumors it was considering offering monetary compensation to female officers in return for not demanding to be saluted by male officers.
According to reports in local media, the Ministry of Interior was looking into alternatives after receiving complaints from male officers. One suggestion was to give each female officer an allowance of 50 dinars ($172) in return for not making male officers of lower ranks salute them.
Another option mentioned was to penalize any officers who refuse to abide by military rules, though there were concerns this could potentially lead some men not to join the army and put the ministry in an even more awkward position.
The ministry, however, denied reports it is considering alternatives to the saluting controversy.
"The ministry treats men and woman equally," an official with the ministry, Colonel Mohamed al-Sabr, told AlArabiya.net. "The salute is done in respect to rank and not individuals."
The controversy started with statements by the head of the GCC Sharia Scholars Union Dr. Ajil al-Nashmi in the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Watan where he said women can only join the military in limited circumstances
"Women can join the military in cases like searching other women at the airport or on the borders," he told the paper. "Otherwise, it is not recommended."
Fighting back
" If everyone issues fatwas according to traditions, we'll live in chaos as if we're in a jungle "
Maha al-Berjes, KHRS Deputy ChairmanThe Kuwait Human Rights Society (KHRS) objected to Nashmi's statements, which came two years after women were allowed to join the military.
"This fatwa has no reasoning in religion and violates the principle of equality granted by the constitution," the rights group said in a statement.
It added that while the Gulf emirate is developing and women are making greater contributions in various fields, this fatwa, or religious ruling, tarnishes the country’s image and hinders its growth.
"We have to resist such views. We call upon the authorities to make sure that no fatwas issued are in contradiction to the teachings of Islam or the rights granted by the constitution," the statement said.
KHRS Deputy Chairman Maha al-Berjes objected to fatwas based on customs and traditions and not religion.
"If everyone issues fatwas according to traditions, we'll live in chaos as if we're in a jungle," she said.
Berjes also denied that KHRS only supports the more liberal members of Kuwait’s government.
"We are against all types of violations regardless of political affiliations, and we are not intimidated by criticism from Islamists. Those who work in human rights should not be intimidated," she concluded.
Imported equality
" It is better to stop women from joining the military. This does not suit them physically and their normal place is at home "
professor of Islamic law Dr. Saad al-Anzi Meanwhile, professor of Islamic law Dr. Saad al-Anzi said women should not join the military except in emergencies like during war.
"In this case, the role of women should be confined to offering medical services and not to engage in fighting," he told AlArabiya.net. "They shouldn't mingle with men."
Anzi added that military salutes are not Islamic to begin with and that women should refrain from entering public life.
"It is better to stop women from joining the military. This does not suit them physically and their normal place is at home."
Anzi referred to equality between men and women as a “novelty” imported from the West and stressed that it goes against Islamic laws.
"The idea of equality between men and women needs to be reviewed," he said.
(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid)
Friday, March 20, 2009
Yemen: Workshop on women's role in public life in Hodeidah
[19 March 2009]
HODEIDAH, March 18 (Saba) - The participants in the Role of Women in Public Life workshop called for the implementation of free lessons to eradicate legal illiteracy as well as awareness campaigns on the concept of freedom at girl schools
The participants affirmed in the workshop which was organized by the volunteer initiative "I am for my country" in the celebration of Women's day in Hodeidah, the importance of the protecting women from political exploitation.
They outlined the role of media in raising awareness about the role of women, reversing the negative image toward women and approximation of male and female views to achieve change together. Moreover, they urged correct interpretation of Quranic verses regarding women and buildup of young female capacity.
Thirty participants addressed during the workshop three work papers on embowering women and fighting thoughts leading to poor participation of women.
FJ/FR
Saba
HODEIDAH, March 18 (Saba) - The participants in the Role of Women in Public Life workshop called for the implementation of free lessons to eradicate legal illiteracy as well as awareness campaigns on the concept of freedom at girl schools
The participants affirmed in the workshop which was organized by the volunteer initiative "I am for my country" in the celebration of Women's day in Hodeidah, the importance of the protecting women from political exploitation.
They outlined the role of media in raising awareness about the role of women, reversing the negative image toward women and approximation of male and female views to achieve change together. Moreover, they urged correct interpretation of Quranic verses regarding women and buildup of young female capacity.
Thirty participants addressed during the workshop three work papers on embowering women and fighting thoughts leading to poor participation of women.
FJ/FR
Saba
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