The Kuwaiti National Council (Parliament) will soon decide on the political rights of the country’s women, reports the Kuwaiti daily Al-Watan.
“The final decision concerning the political rights of women, is an issue to be dealt with in the National Council,” said Chairman of the High Counseling Commission for the Completion of Islamic Law Implementation, Dr. Khalid Al-Ma’dkour, in an interview with Al-Watan.
According to Al-Ma’dkour, whether or not women should be able to vote or be elected, “it is obvious to all, that only the National Council can make the ruling.”
In Kuwait there is a dispute concerning women’s political rights. One group says women should have the right to both elect and be elected. Another says women have the right only to vote, but not to be elected. The third group says women should not be given either the right to vote, or the right to elect. According to Al-Ma’dkour, these are all opinions which the Quran and the prophetic traditions did not rule on, and so each one has its proofs, and it is up to the National Council to decide.