First Kuwaiti women in Parliament

Kuwait: For the first time ever, four Kuwaiti women have been elected to the conservative Muslim Parliament amid a conflict with the Executive.

Out of the 210 candidates to the 50-seat Parliament, women won four of the 16 seats they were vying for, an unprecedented success in a country where women won the right to vote and run for public post in 2005.

According to state-run KUNA news agency, the four women lawmakers are Aseel Awadhi, Rola Dashti (from the third electoral district), Massouma al-Mubarak, who was the first woman appointed minister (Health, 2005) and Salwa Al-Jassar.

The nation's 50-seat parliament doesn't have the power to challenge Kuwait's ruling Sabah family, but it does have the power to slow up building projects and policy changes.

Kuwait, May 17, Prensa Latina