Veiled Women Are Leading

Abstract

A well-respected Kuwaiti leader sits me down in her majlis with a few of her friends and a generous array of sweet and savory snacks and tea. We begin by discussing the long struggle it took for her to get through her own doctoral program, because though she started out as a candidate at a prestigious British university, she was unable to find advisors there to support her work on Islamic-based political rights for women. She then moved to another European university and tried to complete her degree long distance while also raising her children in Kuwait. Again, she had issues working with her advisor who disagreed with her central thesis. She finally appealed to the head of the department and finally got her degree. What a struggle! She said, “But this is my issue, my struggle. How can I forsake it?” She wrote her first book about the social changes in Kuwait in the 1970s and how many Kuwaiti women started to take off their abayas and hijab.

I support a quota—not for the parliament, but to oblige parties. Party lists should be at least 30 percent women because they are disadvantaged in terms of money and support, and require more effort. I was surprised on my visit to the US [to see] that women in politics face the same disadvantages there. We need to support women so that we can convince [the general public] that women will bring strength.

—Kuwaiti female Islamist activist ¹