Fajer Ahmed
By Fajer Ahmed

are celebrating the comeback of women to the Kuwaiti parliament, after a lengthy absence. Two women were elected in the Kuwaiti parliament last week, and although this makes us celebrate the return of women to the parliament, data shows that this is 4 percent of the total Kuwaiti parliament members, making Kuwait the 185th country (7th from last) in the world with the least number of women representatives in the parliament.

The law in kuwait that allowed women to be members of the parliament was promulgated in 2005, 17 years ago, with a large percentage of women voting in the elections. It is surprising to see only two women in parliament today.

Why is this the case? There might be multiple answers for this question, as it is not a simple one. Some male candidates are more experienced politically as parliament members. Men also, generally speaking, have better social networks and better marketing skills in the country making their win more likely.

But men in parliament now have a bigger responsiblity to include women in Kuwait in their decisions including the two parliament members they voted for. This also raises another question of whether we need a quota in the future? In essence, it would mean having an imposed minimum number of female parliament members dictated by law.

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