[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 100 (Thursday, July 15, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S8653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 153--URGING THE PARLIAMENT OF KUWAIT WHEN IT SITS ON 
 JULY 17 TO GRANT WOMEN THE RIGHT TO HOLD OFFICE AND THE RIGHT TO VOTE

  Mr. WELLSTONE submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 153

       Whereas, His Highness, Sheikh Jaber al-Sabah, the Amir of 
     Kuwait, issued a decree in May granting Kuwaiti women the 
     right to vote and to hold office in 2003;
       Whereas, Amiri decrees in Kuwait must be approved by the 
     fifty member Kuwaiti national Parliament;
       Whereas, the Kuwaiti people elected a new Parliament on 
     July 3;
       Whereas, the new Parliament will convene on July 17 and 
     consider legislation to grant women the right to hold office 
     and the right to vote;
       Whereas, the United States of America embraces democratic 
     principles and the importance of women's rights;
       Whereas, the United States is strongly committed to 
     advancing the political rights of women, and democratic 
     principles throughout the Middle East; Now therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate, that the Congress--
       (1) comments His Highness, Sheikh Jaber al-Sabah, for 
     issuing his decree granting suffrage and the right to hold 
     office to Kuwaiti women,
       (2) commends the women of Kuwait for their great strides 
     and continuing struggle toward political equality; and
       (3) calls on the Kuwaiti Parliament to affirm women's 
     suffrage and the right to hold office of women in Kuwait.

 Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I rise to submit a resolution 
that urges the Parliament of Kuwait, sometime during its upcoming 
session, to grant women the right to hold office and the right to vote. 
Real progress has been made in support of the democratic ideal of 
fuller participation for women in the political process there. The 
women of Kuwait enjoy many social and economic benefits, but have 
historically lacked one fundamental right: the right of political 
participation in their own country's emerging democracy.
  I am proud to commend the Amir of Kuwait, His Highness, Sheikh Jaber 
al-Sabah, for his historic decision to issue a decree on May 16 to 
grant Kuwait women the right to vote and to hold office starting in 
2003. Today in Kuwait, women lack the right to vote and to hold public 
office. All of this could change in the coming weeks when a newly-
elected Parliament will vote to confirm or reject the Amir's decision.
  Mr. President, the decision of the Amir, though it will be granted 
great weight by the Parliament, is not final. Such royal decrees must 
be confirmed by a parliamentary vote. Recently, the Amir dismissed 
Parliament in Kuwait for inactivity and on July 3 Kuwait voted for new 
leaders. Now the men Parliament will vote on whether to confirm the 
right to vote and to hold office for Kuwaiti women in the coming weeks.
  I am also proud to say that a woman named Fatima al-Abdali, a 
courageous and passionate champion for women's rights in Kuwait, 
recently became one of the first women to announce that she is running 
for office in 2003. She is now one of at least seven women there who 
have announced that they will run for office for the first time. She 
has spent the last decade of her life fighting for the right to hold 
office and to vote. Her efforts have finally paid off with the Amir's 
recognition, as he has remarked, of ``the role played by Kuwaiti women 
in building and developing Kuwait society.''
  This is a truly historic moment in the Middle East.
  It is only fitting, Mr. President, that Americans should be moved by 
the struggle of Kuwaiti women. The United States has been defined by 
great struggles for basic political rights: for the freedoms embodied 
in the Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation; 
the freedom central to the major civil rights legislation of this 
century, and to the struggle of women in our own country to achieve the 
right to vote and the right to hold public office. Sojourner Truth and 
Susan B. Anthony were great heroines of this nation. They fought the 
fight in this country that is currently being waged in Kuwait. In 
memory of these crusaders for justice, I stand in strong support of 
Kuwaiti women. I know I speak for my home state of Minnesota and the 
entire country when I support the struggle being waged by the women of 
Kuwait.
  Some people in the region are arguing that under Islamic tradition 
women should not have such political rights. Contrary to this opinion, 
many experts believe that Islam does not prohibit the right for women 
to vote and to hold public office. In fact, Islamic history is filled 
with prominent female figures.
  Women in Kuwait are making great strides in business, government, 
education, and the media. A woman is the Rector of Kuwait University. 
The Under Secretary for Higher Education is a woman. A woman is the 
head of the Kuwait news agency.
  Now we are seeing women move forward and make significant political 
strides as well. Armed with this Amiri decree, the women in Kuwait are 
becoming prepared to seize the opportunity they have fought for. They 
are announcing campaigns for office in 2003. I ask that the members of 
the new Parliament not turn their backs on history and vote against the 
Amiri decree allowing voting rights and the right to hold office.
  I join the with leaders from across the world, including Egypt, Iran, 
Pakistan, and Indonesia in my admiration and respect for the importance 
of this development. I hope Kuwait's new Parliament will have the 
courage to take the historic step of affirming this decree.

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