Courtesy of The Economist:
By far the biggest surprise was the election of four female members of parliament (MPs) who have managed to break an all-male political barrier and successfully upstaged opponents who forcefully campaigned against female participation. The four newcomers-Massouma al-Mubarak (Kuwait’s first female minister in the previous government), Rola Dashti (the first woman to head the Kuwait Economic Society), Aseel al-Awadhi (who narrowly missed becoming an MP in March 2008) and Salwa al-Jasser (chair of a non-governmental organisation, the Women’s Empowerment Centre)-have benefited from a change in Kuwait’s mood which has shifted towards merit and political competency from an association with tribal ties and expediency. That all four hold PhDs, have a formidable reputation for professionalism and now represent a proportion of the population that makes up more than 54% of eligible voters, points to a radical shift in opinion across Kuwait’s once stratified society.
More here.