Gender and Politics in Kuwait: Women and Political Participation in the Gulf

(Hardback)

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The role of women in politics in the Gulf is a much-debated and often little-understood subject in the West. In Gender and Politics in Kuwait the author sheds new light on the struggle of Kuwaiti women for political participation, examining both the positions women hold in society and politics, and the discourses surrounding feminism and civil rights. He charts the history of women and their contribution to the Kuwaiti state, from independence and the writing of the constitution in the 1960s, through the Iraqi occupation in 1990, to the struggle for the right to vote and stand for election in the twenty-first century. Drawing on the experiences of women in a range of roles in Kuwaiti society, including government, education, employment, civil society and the media, this is a comprehensive examination of gender politics and its impact in the Middle East.

Reviews

'The role of women in society is one of the priority issues of the United Nations Millennium Project, thus highlighting the issue's importance on a global level. But the matter is of particular importance in terms of the modernization attempts of the Gulf Cooperation Council States in the wake of the Arab Spring. Meshal Al-Sabah shows very well how the Gulf crisis of 1990-91, following Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, was a catalyst in the country's approach to the issue of women in politics. Dealing with the hugely important and topical issue of the role of women in society and politics, this is a comprehensive and reader-friendly work. I believe that it will make a significant contribution to the scholarship on Kuwait, the Gulf and the role of women in politics as well as wider Arab society.' Professor Rory Miller, Director of the Middle East and Mediterranean Studies Programme, King's College London

Author Bio

Meshal Al-Sabah is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies, King's College London. Educated at The University of Chicago and Harvard University, he holds a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies from King's College London.