"it was overturned by the new parliament just months later by two-votes difference. Kuwaiti women were granted the right to vote in May 2005. Women voted for the first time in June 2006, and in these elections 28 women ran out of a pool of 250 candidates though none won. Almost exactly four years after women were given full political rights, four were elected into parliament for the first time. The winners in the 2009 elections were: Massouma Al Mubarak (the first Kuwaiti woman appointed to the cabinet), Aseel Al Awadhi, Rola Dashti, and Salwa Al Jassar. In 2011, Kuwait"
"of some 800,000 Emirati citizens in the country were eligible to take part in 2006 election. Those eligible were chosen by the rulers of the emirates. Women are allowed to vote and run for office but there is no quota to ensure a set number of women are elected as there is in some other Arab countries. Over 14 percent of candidates are women. By the end of 2003, all forty members of the FNC were male. Election officials billed the polls as a trial run they hoped will pave the way for universal suffrage in the coming years. Even"
"is composed entirely of people who openly practice patriarchal religion. Lebanese women won the right to vote in 1952. However, since that victory, only seventeen women have served in the Lebanese parliament. Not only do each of these religions have their own place in Parliament, they also have their own courts and codes of conduct. While Lebanon is often seen as a very liberal country, arguably the most liberal country within the Middle East, the systematic oppression of women is still prevalent. Currently, women are able to: marry freely while understanding that divorce may bring about a great deal of"
"to be politically active, and who are also struggling to vote, but can't because they are being chased out of polling places by people who believe that men and women should not intermix. So far, the government does not appear to by trying to help stop this violence. Of the states that underwent change in the Middle East during the Arab Spring, Egypt was the first to hold democratic elections. As of 2012, Egypt had also seen some increase in the number of women who were in a seat of government, with 12 of the 498 seats in the Egyptian"
"to step up demands for equality. In 2005, it was announced that Kuwaiti women would be granted equal political rights to men. Eighteen female candidates contested Bahrain's parliamentary elections on 25 November 2006, with one candidate, Lateefa Al Gaood, winning by default even before polling after her two opponents in her constituency dropped out of the race. Most of the women ran for Leftist parties or as independents, with no Islamist party being represented by a woman, although salafist party Asalah was the only group to publicly oppose women's candidature in parliamentary elections. For further information see Bahrain election 2006"
"Democracy in the Middle East According to the Democracy Index 2016 study, Israel (#29 worldwide) is the only democracy in the Middle East, while Tunisia (#69 worldwide) is the only democracy in North Africa. The measure of the level of democracy in nations throughout the world published by Freedom House and various other freedom indices, the Middle Eastern and North African countries with the highest scores are Israel, Tunisia, Turkey, Lebanon, Morocco, and Kuwait. Countries that are occasionally classified as partly democratic are Egypt and Iraq. The remaining countries of the Middle East are categorized as authoritarian regimes, with the"
"2006 Emirati parliamentary election The first elections ever to be held in the United Arab Emirates took place on 16 December, 18 December and 20 December 2006. Half of the Federal National Council, which has forty members, were elected. Abu Dhabi and Fujairah voted on 16 December; Dubai and Ras al-Khaimah on 18 December; Sharjah, Ajmān and Umm al-Quwain on 20 December. Only 6,689 of the more than 300,000 citizens over 18 years were allowed to vote, 1,163 of them women; all of these voters were chosen by the rulers of the seven emirates. One of the four seats in"
"In 2002 the decision by King Hamad to grant women the right to vote and equal political rights with men was opposed by a majority of Bahraini women, with 60% of women surveyed saying they disagreed with the move. Salafists have publicly restated their opposition to women's participation in parliament, and none of the Islamist parties that dominate parliament has ever fielded a female candidate. One woman won a seat in parliament in 2006, although her victory in the sparsely populated constituency in the south of the country was seen by some as engineered by the government which wanted to"
"the parliament in Uzbekistan was also women. 14.9% of the Tajikistan parliament was women in 2000. Equal rights and opportunities laws have been drafted in most Muslim countries of Central Asia; however, women are still stuck in secondary positions because of traditional patriarchal views of women. Women actively participated in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1905/06, which recognized all citizens as equal. The electoral law of 1906, however, denied women the right to vote. Women voted for the first time in the 1963 referendum on the White Revolution (reform introduced by Mohammad Reza Shah). The government did not allow women's"
"rights (other than voting). Note: in some countries both men and women have limited suffrage. For example, in Brunei, which is a sultanate, there are no national elections, and voting exists only on local issues. In the United Arab Emirates the rulers of the seven emirates each select a proportion of voters for the Federal National Council (FNC) that together account for about 12% of Emirati citizens. Timeline of women's suffrage Women's suffrage – the right of women to vote – has been achieved at various times in countries throughout the world. In many nations, women's suffrage was granted before"
"consisting only of women. The Assembly of Councillors (""Majlis al-Mustasharin"") has 270 members, elected for a nine-year term, elected by local councils (162 seats), professional chambers (91 seats) and wage-earners (27 seats). The Parliament's powers, though limited, were expanded under the 1992 and 1996 constitutional revisions and include budgetary matters, approving bills, questioning ministers, and establishing ad hoc commissions of inquiry to investigate the government's actions. The lower chamber of Parliament may dissolve the government through a vote of no confidence. On November 26, 2011 initial results of parliamentary elections were released. The moderate Islamist party, the Justice and Development"
"Strip, Israel allowed the distribution of the pro-Fatah newspapers al-Quds, al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida to Gaza, but Hamas prevented Gazan distributors from retrieving the shipment. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemned the Hamas restrictions of distribution of the West Bank newspapers in Gaza, and also condemned the Fatah-led government in the West Bank for restricting publication and distribution of the Gazan newspapers al-Resala and Falastin. Women have full suffrage in the PA. In the 2006 elections, women made up 47 percent of registered voters. Prior to the elections, the election law was amended to introduce a quota for"
"Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2003. In 2004, Afghanistan reserved seats for female candidates in legislative elections for the first time. As a result, almost 30% of the women won their seats on their own (not because they were reserved), and 68 women (27%) were also elected to parliament. Although there has been significant improvement of women's participation in public office, men are still the majority in the government and therefore still tend to make the final decisions. Arab women today enjoy the smallest number of parliamentary seats around the world. For"
"Bahrain election 2006 women candidates Women candidates of the 2006 Bahrain election, which took place on the November 25, 2006 were reported to have received numerous threats from Islamic salafist and other factions to prevent them taking part. In all, eighteen female candidates of various political stances and views took part after recent changes to the political system in 2001 allowed women to not only become candidates, but also gave them the right to vote. In March 1999 Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa came to power in Bahrain and national liberalisation quickly followed with the passing of the National Charter"
"by many Palestinians. The constraints and restrictions on the power of elected officials imposed by unelected officials has caused public apathy towards parliament. The Jordanian electorate however is largely aware of other electoral options and there is not much public discussion of flaws in the electoral system. While the government has frequently made rhetoric about improving the democratic system, this rhetoric far outstrips any actions it takes. Jordan’s constitution has no provision guaranteeing universal suffrage. Article 6 prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, race and language, but notably makes no provisions for gender. Nonetheless, women obtained the right to"
"for the first time in the 2002 election. However, no women were elected to office in that year's polls and instead Shī´a and Sunnī Islamic parties dominated the election, collectively winning a majority of seats. In response to the failure of women candidates, six were appointed to the Shura Council, which also includes representatives of the Kingdom's indigenous Jewish and Christian communities. The country's first female cabinet minister was appointed in 2004 when Dr. Nada Haffadh became Minister of Health, while the quasi-governmental women's group, the Supreme Council for Women, trained female candidates to take part in the 2006 general"
"Gallup poll in 2006 in eight predominantly Muslim countries found that only in Saudi Arabia did the majority of women not agree that women should be allowed to hold political office. Saudi women supportive of traditional gender roles (many of them well educated, ""sometimes downright aggressive"" and including ""award-winning scientists, writers and college professors"") insist that loosening the ban on women driving and working with men is part of an onslaught of Westernized ideas to weaken Islam and that Saudi Arabia is uniquely in need of conservative values because it is the center of Islam. Some Saudi female advocates of"
"and sexual assaults, and fabricated cases. Since June 2016, the village of Diraz has been besieged by the Bahraini government. The siege included the Bahraini government from forcibly preventing Shias to perform the congregational Juma (Friday) prayer in the Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque in Diraz. King Hamad's moves to promote women's rights have been described by Amnesty International as representing a ""New Dawn for Bahraini Women"". In 2002, women voted for the first time in national elections and were given equal political rights. However, these top-down reforms have proven contentious, with calls for reform opposed by conservatives and the royal family."
"Israeli citizenship. He noted that Israel is one of the few countries in the Middle East where Arab women can vote. In contrast to the non-Israeli Arab world, Arab women in Israel enjoy the same status as men. Muslim women have the right to vote and to be elected to public office. Muslim women, according to Sayyed, are in fact more liberated in Israel than in any Muslim country. Israeli law prohibits polygamy, child marriage, and the ""barbarity"" of female sexual mutilation. He concluded by saying ""I am convinced that it is true that God created this earth but it"
"Only around a third of the population were members of the electoral colleges. Following changes to the electoral systen, the elections were held using single non-transferable vote, meaning voters could only vote for one candidate in their emirate, irrespective of the number of seats. Overseas voting was allowed for the first time. A total of 330 candidates contested the elections, of which 252 were men and 78 women. Campaigning was allowed between 6 and 30 September. Of the twenty elected members, 19 were men and one a woman, Naama Al Sharhan, who was elected in Ras al-Khaimah. Voter turnout was"
"agreement. In addition to being candidates in mixed electoral lists, women have a national list in parliamentary elections that allow them for at least 10% of the seats. In parallel, and in September 2006, a national observatory to fight violence against women was founded. Many state departments, administrations, universities as well as national female associations are sought to coordinate efforts together. In 2006, the Moroccan citizenship was transferred to the children via the father. Soumya Naâmane Guessous, a Moroccan sociologist has launched a campaign for the transmission of Moroccan citizenship by the mother to her children. The ability for mother"
"women candidates remained unresolved. The issue was raised at the third Jaffa convention, and despite opposition from Orthodox Jews, it was decided that women would be allowed to stand as candidates. However, ultimately the Orthodox held separate elections in Jerusalem on 3 May, from which women were banned from participating. Voters elected one member for every 80 voters, except for the Orthodox, who elected one for every 40 voters on the basis that women were banned from their vote. A total of 263 delegates were elected in the general voting, and another 51 by Orthodox voters. Around 22,000 of the"
"citizens. They are not allowed to vote in Israel. Women faced significant cultural barriers in political parties representing conservative religious movements and, to a lesser degree, the Arab minority. In the 2015 election, the 120-member Knesset had 29 female members and 15 Arab members. Three women were appointed to the cabinet, and for the first time an Arab Israeli chaired a permanent committee. Although Israel describes itself as a Jewish state, all religious groups have freedom to practice and maintain communal institutions in Israel. According to the 2009 US Department of State report on Israel and the occupied territories, ""The"
"to Israeli military responses. On July 23, 2004 a family attempted to physically prevent the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades from setting up a Qassam rocket launcher outside their house. Members of the brigade shot one member of the family, an Arab boy, and wounded 5 others. Women have full suffrage in the PA. In the 2006 elections, women made up 47 per cent of registered voters. Prior to the elections, the election law was amended to introduce a quota for women on the national party lists, resulting in 22 per cent of candidates on the national lists being women. The quota's"
"allowed to run for office, and the first in which women were elected as politicians. Half the seats in municipal councils in Saudi Arabia were chosen in men-only elections in 2005 and 2011. The municipal councils reportedly have ""little power"" in Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy. Saudi Arabian women campaigned for the right to participate in the 2011 elections, organising through the ""Baladi"" (""My Country"") and Saudi Women's Revolution campaigns for women's right to participate. Several women tried to register as electors in Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dammam. A few days before the 2011 election took place, King Abdullah announced that"
"members of parliament were elected in Finland the following year. In Europe, the last jurisdiction to grant women the right to vote was the Swiss canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden (AI), in 1991; AI is the smallest Swiss canton with 14,100 inhabitants in 1990. Women in Switzerland obtained the right to vote at federal level in 1971, and at local cantonal level between 1959 and 1972, except for Appenzell in 1989/1990, see Women's suffrage in Switzerland. In Saudi Arabia women were first allowed to vote in December 2015 in the municipal elections. For other women's rights, see timeline of women's legal"
"then, however, only half of the FNC will be elected. In late 2006, half of the organization was elected. These elections were seen as the first steps toward Emirati democracy. In 2011, parliamentary elections had an expanded electoral college with 129,274 members, nearly 20 times more than in 2006. The new Electoral College includes about 12 per cent of UAE nationals. Approximately 35 per cent of the members were under 30 years of age and 46 per cent were women. In all, 468 candidates, including 85 women, stood for the elections. Many candidates pledged to provide better education and health"
"and a testament to the long struggle of women's rights activists there"". As with many issues related to women's rights, women's suffrage has been a matter of public discussion in Saudi Arabia in recent years, with strongly held views on both sides. It is the last country in the world to retain a gender-specific ban on political suffrage. Women are allowed to hold positions on boards of chambers of commerce. In 2008, two women were elected to the board of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. There are no women on the High Court or the Supreme Judicial Council."
"with a legislature other than Saudi Arabia. A 2006 study demonstrated that “although women have the legal right to vote and stand for elections in almost every country of the world, cultural barriers to women’s use of their political rights, including family resistance and illiteracy, remain”. Many countries have instituted quotas dictating a minimum number of women to be given elected positions in governments. In general, the quota system has acted as a fast-track to incorporating greater female representation into the governing systems. Several countries, such as Rwanda, which have established quota systems successfully have even recently surpassed traditionally highly"
"example, in 2005 women occupied 5.7% of all parliamentary seats in the region, as compared to 12-15% in other regions. Some Arab countries have tried to adopt legislation to increase women's participation, but the laws are never usually enforced. Some Arab countries have also adopted quotas that guarantee the representation of women. For example, Morocco reserves 30 seats of 325 and Jordan reserves 6 of 110 seats for women. Although women are still underrepresented, their participation is rising. For example, the number of female politicians elected in Morocco in 2003 rose from 84 to 127 (out of 22,944 elected officials,"
"most democratic nations in the Arab world. Until 2005, Palestinians were forbidden to work in over 70 jobs because they did not have Lebanese citizenship. After liberalization laws were passed in 2007, the number of banned jobs dropped to around 20. In 2010, Palestinians were granted the same rights to work as other foreigners in the country. Lebanon's national legislature is the unicameral Parliament of Lebanon. Its 128 seats are divided equally between Christians and Muslims, proportionately between the 18 different denominations and proportionately between its 26 regions. Prior to 1990, the ratio stood at 6:5 in favor of Christians;"
"Azerbaijan, and two others are Justices of the Constitutional Court. In the 2010 election, women constituted 16% of all MPs (twenty seats in total) in the National Assembly of Azerbaijan. Abortion is available on demand in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The human rights ombudsman since 2002, Elmira Suleymanova, is a woman. In Iran, a groundswell of grassroots movements have sought gender equality since the 1980s. Protests in defiance of government bans are dispersed through violence, as on 12 June 2006 when female demonstrators in Haft Tir Square in Tehran were beaten. Past Iranian leaders, such as the reformer ex-president Mohammad"
"equal civil rights and attend institutions of higher education in large numbers (for example, women constituted 41 percent of the student body at the American University of Beirut in 1983). Although women in Lebanon have their own organizations, most exist as subordinate branches of the political parties. France confirmed the electoral system of the former Ottoman Mount Lebanon province in setting up a Representative Council for Greater Lebanon in 1922. Two stage elections, universal adult male suffrage, and multimember multi-communal constituencies continued the situation that prevailed in Mount Lebanon up to 1914. Women in Lebanon gained suffrage in 1952, only"