The Arab Spring and women in Kuwait

Abstract

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The Arab Spring, a revolutionary wave of protests and rebellions, and a process of regime change and democratization is sweeping the Arab world, but marginally touching women’s issues in Kuwait. While Arab women in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Yemen, Jordan, and Syria are active participants and co-beneficiaries of the process of change, Kuwaiti women have lost their electoral gains made in 2009 in the latest elections held in February of 2012. The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of Arab Spring on women in Kuwait, and their continued struggle for political participation in the country. It will also highlight the accomplishments of the women’s movement and its inability to utilize the general atmosphere supportive of women’s rights in Kuwait to maintain its parliamentary representation in the Kuwaiti National Assembly.