Really Good News from Kuwait!

I know, right?  But it is good news: four women–of sixteen who ran– have been elected to the Majlis Al-Umma, Kuwait’s Parliament.

Four might not seem like many (out of  50 seats) but as a comparison, the U.S currently has only 17 female senators (of 100) and 76 female representatives (of 435).  And it was only in 2005 that Kuwaiti women were granted the right to vote and hold elected office. 

Even better, the fundamentalist Sunni Islamist party which rallied against the women running  lost a significant number of seats.

Congratulations to Aseel al-Awadhi, Rula Dashti, Salwa al-Jassar, and Massouma al-Mubarak!  Said Awadhi:  “It’s a victory for Kuwaiti women and a victory for Kuwaiti democracy.  This is a major leap forward.”

Holla.  And it’s just the beginning, insh’allah.

Read more from Al Aribya.

P.S. I just found out that Lithuania just elected, with more than 68% of the vote, their first female president! More on Dalia Grybauskaite’s victory at The Beeb.