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KUWAIT VS. WOMEN Women have once again formally been denied political rights in the oil-rich statelet of Kuwait. On Nov. 30 the Parliament voted against a bill that would have allowed women to vote and run for office. Hundreds of men cheered after the vote was taken. In neighboring Iraq, women have long played a prominent role in society. Women vote and work outside the home. Many doctors, teachers and government workers are women. The Western media would have us believe that the problem in Kuwait is Islamic fundamentalism. But the people of Iraq come from the same religious background as the Kuwaitis. It's not religion but imperialist politics that have reinforced extreme reaction in Kuwait. It was the former colonial power, Britain, that divided the area into different countries. When it set up Kuwait, it made sure that the richest oil fields were under the control of a feudal family, the Al-Sabah dynasty, groomed to protect imperialist interests as well as its own. This dynasty enshrines male domination in Kuwait even today. But Iraq had an anti-colonial revolution in 1958 that led to a secular state and the development of a modern infrastructure. Iraq's refusal to knuckle under to U.S. and British imperialism is the real reason it is under sanctions today--sanctions that threaten to destroy the progress Iraqi women and men have made since the revolution. --By Deirdre Griswold - END - (Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww@workers.org. For subscription info send message to: info@workers.org. Web: http://www.workers.org) -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk Full archive and list instructions are available from the CASI website: http://welcome.to/casi