KuwaitÂ’s new female education minister refused to wear a veil as she took an oath when the new government of the OPEC oil-producer was sworn in on Monday, triggering protests from several Islamist parliamentarians. Nouriya al-Subaih defied calls by some deputies to cover her hair when taking the oath with the rest of the Gulf Arab countryÂ’s cabinet.
“The minister must comply with the provisions of Sharia (Islamic law) approved by parliament. The government must uphold the law,” said deputy Dhaifallah Buramia, who stood up in parliament until Parliament Speaker Jassem al-Kharafi told him to sit down. Women won the right to run for office and vote in Kuwait in 2005 in the face of resistance from some deputies who managed to add a clause stipulating women must abide by Islamic law. Subaih, a liberal who does not belong to any political bloc, is one of two women in the new cabinet. The other woman, Health Minister Massouma al-Mubarak, always wears a veil in public. Kuwait’s ruler, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who has the last word in all government affairs, formed a new cabinet on March 25. |