Kuwait parliament speaker receives UK, EU officials
KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanem received in his office on Tuesday the British Minister of State for Asia, the Middle East and Commonwealth Affairs Amanda Milling on her official visit to the country, and explored various topics of common interests. The meeting was attended by UK’s Ambassador to Kuwait Belinda Lewis.
Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Sabah also met with British Minister Milling, along with her accompanying delegation. The two sides discussed the special bilateral ties connecting the two nations, and ways of bolstering these relations across various fields, as well as mulling over latest developments on regional and international fronts.
In the meantime, Speaker Ghanem received the European Union Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process Sven Koopmans, who is currently paying an official visit to the country. EU Ambassador to Kuwait Cristian Tudor attended the meeting and praised international efforts to achieve justice and equality in the Middle East region.
Active role
Women in Kuwait lead a very active role in society, said British Ambassador to Kuwait Belinda Lewis. The embassy in Kuwait hosted a workshop called “Women in Leadership” on Monday marking Kuwaiti Women’s Day, which reflects the Kuwaiti political leadership’s belief in the role of women in all fields. “Comparing with many countries, women empowerment in Kuwait is good, I’ve seen a well-educated and motivated society,” said the ambassador.
On the other hand, the visiting United Kingdom Minister for Asia and the Middle East MP Amanda Milling said that women in Kuwait have reached high levels in business, public service and politics. During the workshop Nouf Al-Mazeedi and Abdullah Al-Khonaini presented research on political economy and gender issues, which shows that women need to be incentivized to become candidates and need support that sets them up for success. It added that that the Kuwaiti society needs to view women as viable decision makers, capable of winning seats and delivering positive incomes.
It also pointed out that the Kuwaiti political system needs to be structured in a way that encourages women’s political participation. Leanah Al-Awadhi and Asrar Hayat, co-founders of Madhawi’s list, which offers support to women running for elected office positions, believe that increasing the number of women in leadership positions and fostering a civil workplace both help to alleviate domestic problems. On May 17, 2005, a bill was passed granting Kuwaiti women the right to vote and run for an elected office. Four years later, in May 2009, four female candidates won parliamentary seats in a general election out of 50 available seats. – KUNA
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