It is well known that the governments of Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have issued decisions granting women the right to (limited) political participation. Today, there are several female ministers in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. However, these female ministers were appointed in line with decisions coming from higher authorities (not parliaments), decisions which were made subsequent to intense discussions and lengthy deliberations in parallel with the ones that took place in Kuwait. It is also well known that the National Assembly of Kuwait approved a decision on 15/05/2005 to give women and men equal rights to political participation, especially the right to nominate a candidate or run for a public office in the National Assembly (legislative authority). The law was enacted in the parliamentary elections of 2007. Nevertheless, not a single woman won a seat in the National Assembly of Kuwait during that election. But, when parliament was dissolved and early elections were held in 2009, four women won seats for the first time. Following the 2005 decision, the executive authority of Kuwait's government appointed Dr. Masooma Al-Mubarek (professor of political science at Kuwait University) as Minister of Planning to be the first Kuwaiti female minister. That took place on 12/06/2005. During the parliamentary elections that took place in Bahrain on 01/10/2011, four Bahraini women won seats in the House of Representatives, i.e 10 percent of the 40 seats of the House. This was viewed as an achievement for Bahraini women in the field of political participation. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, women's political participation was delayed for social and other reasons. However, women were given the right to political participation when King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, issued, in his annual speech at the Shoura Council on 25/09/2011, two historic decisions. The first allowed women to become members in the Saudi Shoura Council effective next session and the second allowed them to nominate candidates and run as candidates for public office in the next election of municip al councils. In fact, these decisions were anticipated and patiently awaited in light of the political development process which has been taking place in the Kingdom for the past two decades. During this time, women have taken their place in different fields, especially in the health and education sectors, media, business, etc. Their presence was not marginal, but was and still is distinguished. Many prominent female professional leaders and figures appeared and they outshone men in terms of their level of knowledge, culture and achievement. The 2010 population census showed that there were 9,185,628 women which equaled 49.1 percent of the Kingdom's entire population (18,708,000 citizens). Women make up half of Saudi society. They need empowerment to excel and contribute to the country with their education, efforts and dedication. Such contributions will reflect positively on the country's advancement and development. Saudi women represent the majority of the women in GCC countries, and they are at the forefront of the Arab women's society. Empowering them will allow them to advance, develop and achieve more. (To be continued) (Dr. Sadaka Y. Fadhel is a Member of the Shoura Council and Professor of Political Science.) __
