Kuwaiti Feminists Away--Clergymen Deny Them the Vote

The highest religious lawmaking authority in Kuwait decreed Monday that women be denied the vote and the chance to hold seats in Parliament.

The decree was made while the nation’s feminist groups were in Kenya attending the U.N. Decade for Women Conference.

In response to a government request for a ruling on whether women should be given the vote, the Committee for Koranic Interpretations and Legislation said: “The nature of election processes befits men, who are endowed with ability and expertise. . . . It is not permissible that women recommend or nominate other women or men” for public posts.

Although the decree has the power of law, it cannot be enforced without parliamentary ratification.

“Islam does not permit women to forfeit their basic commitments” of bearing and rearing children, the decree said, citing a saying by the Prophet Mohammed: “No people will be successful if they are led by a woman.”

In general, Kuwaiti women have been a model of modernity to women in other Persian Gulf states. They shed the veil in the early 1960s. They drive their own cars and wear Western clothes, and they hold important posts in the government.