Un'ottima notizia dal Golfo Persico. Dopo aver ottenuto, dopo lunghe battaglie, il diritto di voto, le donne finalmente sono riuscite ad essere elette. Si aspettava l'elezione di una, ce l'hanno fatta in quattro. Ottima anche la perdita di consensi della formazione politica islamista.

"It's a victory for Kuwaiti women and a victory for Kuwaiti democracy," Ms Awadhi told AFP news agency.

"This is a major leap forward," she said. The right to vote and stand for election to Kuwait's parliament, the oldest in the Gulf, was extended to women in 2005.

"Men don't have credibility anymore. We're fed up with crises." Ibrahim al-Attar told AP news agency after casting his vote for four female candidates.

 Young and middle-aged women gathered at the Women's Cultural and Social Society headquarters on Tuesday evening. It was time to celebrate Kuwaiti women's historic achievement, with four women elected to represent Kuwaiti citizens in the National Assembly.

Women gathered at the hall, looking visibly excited. A few men could be spotted among the crowd. Many of the women present were veterans in the women's rights movement and continued to fight for equality in the conservative Arab society.

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NzY4ODYzNzIw

Malgrado la buona notizia collegata alla sconfitta degli estremisti islamici di Hezbollah, la rappresentanza femminile in politica continua ad essere scarsissima.

Lebanese women were granted suffrage in 1953, yet to this day they face considerable obstacles entering politics in a country where political dynasties and patriarchy rule. Most women who do enter politics do so "wearing black", filling a position made available by a deceased male relative. 

out of 587 candidates only 12 were women, a figure that translates into a mere two percent. Even more deplorable is the fact that out of those 12, only four – Nayla Tueni, Bahia Hariri, Strida Geagea and Gilberte Zwein, each of them hailing from political dynasties – were elected to Lebanon's 128-member parliament.

So long as Lebanon continues to hinder women's rights and prevents women from entering the political process, the country cannot enjoy true democracy. Men and women alike must work to encourage female parliamentarians. If Lebanese women have had the right to die as part of their country's army for the last 18 years, they should also have the right to help formulate the laws that govern every Lebanese citizen, man or woman. 

http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=25698&lan=en&sid=1&sp=0&isNew=1

Syria has scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences handed down to men convicted of killing female relatives they suspect of having illicit sex.

Women's groups had long demanded that Article 548 be scrapped, arguing it decriminalised "honour" killings.

Activists say some 200 women are killed each year in honour cases by men who expect lenient treatment under the law.

The new law replaces the existing maximum sentence of one year in jail with a minimum jail term of two years.

Reports say women's rights activists have given a cautious welcome to the change, with one group calling it a "small contribution to solving the problem".

Their objection remains, however, that the new law still apparently invites men to murder women if they catch them having sex or suspect them of doing so.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8130639.stm

 http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275820,syria-changes-honour-killing-law.html