When we were planning Dr. Aseel’s visit, we wanted to achieve two main things; one is to introduce her to our campus and my students at the Islamic Feminism course, and two is to introduce her to the general public in Doha. This was Aseel’s first trip to Doha, and although Kuwait is a neighbor and a GCC member, not every one in Doha have thoroughly followed the changing political scene in Kuwait. In introducing Aseel we introduce Kuwaiti politics and women’s struggle to achieve political rights.

As a part of Carnegie Mellon’s Distinguished Lecture Series, Dr. Aseel Al-Awadhi was our first distinguished lecturer in 2010. The Lecture was held at the Four Season Hotel on Monday the 25^th and was given the title of “Gulf Women and Politics: The Kuwaiti Experience”.

I had the pleasure of introducing Aseel, and here is what I said:

“Gulf women have been taking strides during the recent decades. On the on hand they’ve become publically visible, in education, business and other domains. On the other hand their visibility has brought to surface the issues, challenges and obstacles that they face- those that were previously buried in an ideological system that would perceive even talking about women a shameful matter. Today we know what the shortcomings of our societies are, we know our potential as women- although we haven’t explored it to the fullest yet, and we know how to stand up for our beliefs and make our voices clear and loud.

Our distinguished speaker tonight knows that success requires sacrifice. She doesn’t quit because she has the vision, passion and drive to succeed not just for herself but for all women in the Gulf and the following generations.

She made history when she became one of the first four women to be elected to the Kuwaiti Parliament in 2009.

She has since provided an alternative dialogue to the political discourse in Kuwait, a one that is based on logic and critical thinking. She has made women’s voice clear and visible and has paved the road for future female politicians, posing herself as a role model for the younger generations.

Her name on its own is a success story.”

Aseel’s 50 minutes talk went from the general to the specific, starting from obstacles that the women of the Gulf face in the field of politics to narrowing the point of reference to her personal experience in the elections of 2008- when she came 11^th and lost for a hard-core Islamist- and of 2009 elections when she won a seat in the parliament.

When talking about obstacles, Aseel specified that the “patriarchal culture” is the main obstacle. She explained how patriarchal culture can hinder women in three main points. Firstly, she mentioned that in such a culture there exists a clear distinction between being a man and being a woman. There are inherited conceptions of how women are, one of which is being weak, irrational, and emotional and therefore a woman can’t handle politics. Men of course are perceived as strong, rational, and fit for leadership. The problem is magnified because both men and women are raised in such culture and come to believe these misconceptions. And this consequently affects voters, who will advocate and vote for the candidate according to his gender rather than credentials. Aseel continued that the dominant Islamic fundamental groups during the previous 30 years in Kuwait have helped in spreading this patriarchal culture and have helped in emphasizing these gender roles under the slogan and excuse of religion.

A second aspect of the patriarchal culture that undermines women is their submission to a hero. The belief in collective efforts that is incomplete unless they are led by a charismatic leader, a one who is capable of delivering long speeches and touching the hearts of the masses is exactly what made some reject women running for office. Such a leader to them cannot and should not be a woman because of their belief that men should not be led by a woman.

The third aspect undermining women is women and the way they perceive themselves. Women are made to believe that they cannot compete with men despite that there is a big percentage of Kuwaiti women who are already active in societies and organizations but politics for them remains the domain by and for men.

Aseel touches on the fact that people are resistant to change, and gives an example that change cannot be seen as merely the act of issuing a law, because until people actually starts implementing it and when it becomes a part of the people’s practices.  

The engaged audience showered Aseel with questions and comments. The discussion continued over dinner and Aseel was approached by many who congratulated her and passed their warmest regards to the three other female MPs back in Kuwait.

That was a lovely evening.