[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15370-15371]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  COMMENDING THE STATE OF KUWAIT FOR GRANTING WOMEN CERTAIN IMPORTANT 
                            POLITICAL RIGHTS

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 343) commending the State of Kuwait 
for granting women certain important political rights.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 343

       Whereas on May 16, 2005, the Parliament of the State of 
     Kuwait amended Article 1 of the Election Law 35 of 1962, 
     providing female citizens of Kuwait the right to vote and run 
     in the 2007 elections;
       Whereas the rights of women are of paramount importance in 
     international human rights, to be respected and promoted 
     regardless of historical, cultural, or religious heritage;
       Whereas the active advancement of women's rights throughout 
     the world is and remains an important policy priority of the 
     United States; and
       Whereas the Department of State recognizes that the Kuwaiti 
     parliamentary vote of May 16, 2005, was an important step 
     forward for the women of Kuwait and the nation as a whole, 
     and the United States views this step as a positive 
     development on the road to political reform, serving as a 
     positive example for other governments and societies in the 
     region that are on the path to political freedom, inclusion 
     of women, and full democratization: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That House of Representatives--
       (1) commends the Government and Parliament of the State of 
     Kuwait for providing female citizens of Kuwait the right to 
     vote and hold public office;
       (2) urges the full participation of Kuwaiti women in the 
     political life of their country; and
       (3) encourages the Government of Kuwait to continue taking 
     positive steps to achieve full modernization of its political 
     system and lasting democratic reform.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 343 introduced by my 
friend and colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley), and 
commend him for sponsoring this. At least ten other Members have joined 
him as cosponsors on the resolution.
  In May of 2005, the Kuwaiti Parliament amended its basic election 
laws to provide something which we in America take for granted, the 
rights of women to vote and to run for office. This resolution puts the 
U.S. House of Representatives on record as commending this important 
step in the Middle East. The Kuwaiti Parliament has taken action to 
recognize the important role of women in international human rights, 
and the House states in its resolution how important that role is and 
how it must be respected and promoted regardless of historical, 
cultural or religious heritage. This action by the Kuwaiti Parliament 
underscores its recognition of these important rights and shows its 
support for the American policy of actively advancing women's rights 
all over the world.
  This resolution recognizes America's view that this important step by 
the Kuwaiti Parliament is an important step for the women of Kuwait and 
for the nation as a whole. The resolution formally commends the 
government and the Parliament of Kuwait for this important action and 
urges full participation of Kuwaiti women in the political life of 
their country.
  I urge support of this resolution, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. I thank, 
again, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for his kind words of 
support for this resolution as well.
  Mr. Speaker, on May 16, 2005, after many years of opposition, the 
Kuwaiti Parliament finally granted women the right to vote and to run 
for public office. If you and I, Mr. Speaker, had drafted this bill in 
the Kuwaiti legislature, I know it would have read somewhat 
differently. As worded, it states that ``a Kuwaiti woman, voting and 
running for political office, should do so while fully adhering to the 
dictates of Islamic Sharia.''

                              {time}  1430

  That suggests the possibility of limiting the application of this 
law.
  However, my Kuwaiti friends assure me that the law indeed will be 
applied universally to all of Kuwait's women citizens, and it is my 
hope that that will indeed be the case. In any case, the Kuwaiti 
parliament's action marks an important step on the path towards full 
democratization.
  It should also be noted that, with the enfranchising of women in 
Kuwait, women in every nation that holds elections now have the right 
to vote, except in Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, there still remain 
nations where neither men nor women have the right to vote, a peculiar 
and regrettable form of gender equity.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution. I urge my colleagues to 
support it as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the Crowley 
Resolution (H. Res. 343). This resolution recognizes an important first 
step taken by the State of Kuwait toward giving Kuwaiti women the right 
to fully participate in politics. On May 16, 2005, the Kuwait 
parliament amended Article 1 of the Election Law 35 of 1962, providing 
female citizens of Kuwait the right to vote and run for office in the 
2007 elections. This is the first time in the four decades women have 
had the right to vote in Kuwait.
  This first step is in no small measure attributable to the many years 
of campaigning and legal challenges to the discriminatory electoral law 
of 1962. In past years, women's rights activists have been turned away 
by officials from voter registration centers. In June 2000, a number of 
women filed a complaint against the Minister of the Interior, al-Shikh 
Mohammad Khaled al-Sabah challenging Kuwaiti election law on the 
grounds that the law denied women the right to vote. The challenge was 
heard by the Kuwait Constitutional Court but rejected. A similar 
challenge was rejected in 2001. Most of these attempts to win the vote 
for women were blocked by Islamic conservatives.
  However, the human rights defenders in Kuwait persisted. According to 
the BBC News, with this most recent vote, both men and women rallied 
calling for the parliament to amend the discriminatory law. The BBC 
reported that while some of the women protestors were covered 
completely in full-length veils, many were dressed in the pale blue 
color that symbolizes the struggle of women in Kuwait. The protestors 
were allowed to watch the historic nine hour parliamentary debate.
  In the 1991 Gulf War, the United States sent its young men and women 
to defend Kuwait when Saddam Hussein invaded. The war was widely 
declared to be about protecting the

[[Page 15371]]

freedom of the Kuwaiti people. Yet fully one-half of those people, the 
women of Kuwait, were not able to participate in the political process 
of representative government either as voters or elected 
representatives. This lack of ability to participate in the political 
process of a country is not freedom as we in America understand it.
  International human rights organization, special committees of the 
United Nations, the State Department of this country, and the Congress 
of the United States have long recognized, as does the Crowley 
Resolution, that the rights of women are of paramount importance in 
international human rights. In 1994, Kuwait acceded to the Convention 
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 
and in 1996 it acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights (ICCPR). In its concluding remarks on Kuwait's 
implementation of the UN Women's Convention, the CEDAW committee 
expressed its concern at Kuwait's failure to ensure that women had, on 
equal terms with men, the right to vote in all elections and public 
referenda and to be eligible for election to all publicly elected 
bodies. It noted that the lack of political rights of women also has a 
negative impact on women's enjoyment of other rights protected under 
the Convention.
  CEDAW called on Kuwait to reform its electoral law with adoption of 
legislation to amend the discriminatory 1962 legislation in order to 
bring Kuwait Law into compliance with its CEDAW and the ICCPR. With its 
vote on May 16, 2005, the State of Kuwait has taken action in support 
of its pledge to CEDAW and the ICCPR. Changing a law to end 
discrimination is much more important than just signing the agreement 
to do so.
  The status of women in the Gulf States has been an issue of deep 
concern to me. Women in many Gulf States are treated as second class 
citizens. In Saudi Arabia for example, women do not have the right to 
vote, drive or leave their homes without a male relative. Many women in 
Gulf States are not able to chose their husbands and have few domestic 
rights. Domestic violence against young wives, some as young as 12, is 
a serious problem in some Gulf States. When women cannot vote and have 
no representation, these important issues concerning them are not 
addressed. As has been pointed out in many reports, if women have the 
vote and the right to run for office, they will be at the heart of the 
political decision-making process. Women in politics can consider 
important measures to protect women from violence, and from the threat 
of AIDS. In States where there is no representation for women, violence 
against women is one of the most pervasive of human rights abuses. When 
there are issues concerning women, the voices of women must be heard. I 
am heartened by the parliamentary vote taken in the State of Kuwait on 
May 16, 2005. There is more to be done; Kuwait must take the lead in 
the Gulf and do more.
  I commend the State of Kuwait for acceding to CEDAW. I recommend that 
Kuwait take the measures CEDAW sets out in its General Recommendation 
No. 23 on women in political life and ensure ``that women understand 
their right to vote and how to exercise it'' and ``that barriers to 
equality are overcome, including those resulting from illiteracy, 
language, poverty and impediments to women's freedom of movement.'' 
Kuwait must work as it did to promote this change in its voting law, to 
change the cultural perception of women and their place in Kuwaiti 
women in society.
  It is my hope that the Crowley Resolution will give the State of 
Kuwait the recognition of having accepted a basic principle of 
democracy, that the women of Kuwait have the same right to vote as the 
men of Kuwait.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
commending the State of Kuwait for recently granting women important 
political rights, among them the right of suffrage. Under this new law, 
passed by the Kuwaiti Parliament on May 17, 2005, Kuwaiti women not 
only have the right to vote in municipal elections scheduled for later 
this year and future elections, but they also are now permitted to run 
for public office.
  A few years ago, I had the honor of traveling to Qatar to meet with 
men and women there. During that journey, it became crystal clear to me 
that women's suffrage is a universal human right; one that must be 
fought for by those of us fortunate enough to possess it. The women of 
Qatar won the right of suffrage in 1999, and since then have become 
more involved in their government as their voice is heard for the first 
time.
  Additionally, just last month, I had the pleasure of meeting with a 
delegation of Kuwaiti women involved in various aspects of Kuwaiti 
life. I met with Mrs. Lulwa AI-Mullah, Secretary General of Women 
Social and Cultural Society; Ms. Amal AI-Khaled, Marketing and Public 
Affairs Director of Kuwait News Agency; Dr. Nada Suliman AI-Mutawa, 
professor at Arab Open University; Dr. Nibal K. Bourisly, Assistant 
Professor of Mass Communications at Kuwait University; and Mrs. Aroob 
Youseff AI-Refa'e, Director of Cultural and Scientific Resources at the 
National Council for Culture, Art, and Literature. These progressive 
female leaders work in the areas of university education; human rights, 
business, public affairs, and communications. They have been active in 
their society for some time, and now with the right to vote, their 
contributions will know no bounds.
  I join my colleagues in saluting the granting of suffrage to the 
women of Kuwait. It is imperative that we Members of Congress, as 
representatives of the most free nation in the world, work to advocate 
the protection of this right of Kuwaiti women, and I stand by my 
colleagues in this endeavor.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pearce). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 343.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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