High Court Rejects 4 Suffrage Cases

Kuwait’s highest tribunal refused to rule on four cases that could have led to granting women the right to vote and run for office, saying the challenges were improperly filed. The five-judge panel of the Constitutional Court released the text of its ruling immediately, an unusual move that reflected the wide attention the cases have drawn. One plaintiff, Farida Dashti, said activists will use the ruling to guide them in making another challenge. The four similar cases were referred by lower courts, but the high court objected to the fact that activists raised constitutional questions in the early stages of the proceedings. The activists could rephrase their arguments in the lower courts and hope that they are referred again. A fifth case is pending before the court.