First of all, I'd like to avail myself of this opportunity to emphasize that we all share the same burdens in the East. I would not exaggerate when I say that women in the world still suffer in the field of political action and their experience in pursuing their political rights is rather similar. Discrimination against women in all countries of the world is a reality that exists at different proportions.

Kuwaiti women's journey in claiming their rights has been lengthy as it started in 1971. Women began to be aware of the injustice which Article (1) of the Elections Law poses as it excludes women of her capacity as a voter. As such she is deprived of the right to vote and run for office, as well as any ministerial position. Women's demands for amending the Elections Law continued for 35 years during which she tirelessly persisted and did not wither or wane in demanding her full political rights in the election and candidacy. She maintained the belief that obtaining political rights is an entry point and key to her civil and social rights that would lead to the amendment of the discriminatory laws against women.

As a result of these efforts, a number of MPs in the National Assembly responded to these demands and submitted 12 motions to amend Article (1) of the Election Law, but they were not successful because of the position of both the government and the other opposing MPs to women's political rights.

On May 16, 1999, the late Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad, issued the Law Decree No. 9/1999 amending Article 1 of the Elections Law and removing the requirement of masculinity from the characteristics of the voter. Unfortunately, it did not receive the necessary majority to be approved by the National Assembly. However, after six years, the dream came true.

On May 16, 2005, the law amending the Election Law was passed and the door was open for Kuwaiti women to vote, run and hold ministerial office. A few days later, it was announced that the first woman will be appointed to a ministerial post and it was my honor to be this woman...

It was a dream come true... Thank Allah, I took assumed three ministerial portfolios: Planning and Administrative Development, Transportation and Health. In each of these positions I tried hard and succeeded in leaving a clear fingerprint of women's political abilities.

During my tenure in the ministerial positions, and despite the short period I spent in each ministry, there were a number of achievements that have been attained for the public good including the following accomplishments for women:

1) I managed to have issued Resolution No. (949) by the Council of Ministers, which prohibits ministries from specifying gender when announcing their employment requirements in order to ensure equal opportunities and non-discrimination against women in filling vacant positions.

2) In January 2006, preparations were made for the first parliamentary elections to be joined by Kuwaiti women and I realized given my interests and responsibilities that the registration of women will take place in February of that year. The number of eligible women who meet the conditions of voting in the election exceeds 200,000. I figured that this number would take more than 3 months to enter manually by hand in the electoral records and there would be a possibility of inaction or lingering of a large number of them who would fail to registration, so I submitted a proposal to the Council of Ministers to accept electronic registration through the system of the Public Authority for Civil Information and in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior to ensure the registration of all those who meet the conditions as voters within 3 days only. Thank Allah the Council of Ministers was convinced with the proposal and submitted it to the National Assembly as a draft law that was Approval and we succeeded in registering women voters for the first elections in which Kuwaiti women participated. This is an achievement that was recorded in favour of women and in favor of democratic practice. Few months later the National Assembly was dissolved and new elections were held in which women participated for the first time in elections as voters and members of the parliament.

3) Upon preparing the development plan, we opened the door for discussion to all segments of society. These segments included youth and women, so that their vision and proposals are included in the development plan and the plan would truly reflect their needs and aspirations. This was the first time that the draft development plan was made available to the public community to discuss where the specialists have had the opportunity to listen to the interests of the concerned groups of the community.

During my membership in the National Assembly, the following were made through draft laws and through Women's Affairs Committee, which I was honored to chair:

1) Partial amendment to the Housing Care Law in favor of women yet, there is still much to be done to achieve the principle of equality.

2) Amending the Foreigners Residence Law to guarantee the right of Kuwaiti women who are married to a non-Kuwaitis to sponsor the residence of their children and husbands.

3) Amending the Health Care and Educational Laws to ensure that a Kuwaiti woman who are married to a non-Kuwaitis are treated equally as Kuwaiti nationals.

4) Amending the Law Decree on Civil Service to ensure and guarantee that the discrimination gap against women is reduced in favor of female employees.

5) Amending maternity leave for female employees, whether in the government or private sector, to be increased from two months to 75 days to allow more comfort for mothers and infants alike.

6) I made a proposal to naturalize the children of Kuwaiti women married to a non-Kuwaitis when they reach the age of majority after choosing between their father's nationality and the nationality of the mother. The proposal did not complete the legislative term needed.

7) I have submitted with others a proposal to amend the law on foreigners ownership of real estate properties that allows children of a non-Kuwaiti father to maintain their inheritance from the property after the death of their mother and would not be forced to sell the same as in pursuance with the existing law that bans non-Kuwaitis from holding a real estate property.

8) A large number of draft laws in various areas such as the rights of individuals with special needs, labor law, privatization law, private universities law, and many others.

This is a brief presentation of what women can do in politics, whether they are members of Parliament or a minister who is responsible for the management of a ministry where they would be entrusted to make decision at ministerial or Cabinet level.

Political women are capable of achieving even if they are alone, but certainly increasing the number of women in decision-making positions will have more and more visible footprints and creates greater room for gender equality.

Peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you all