May 16, 2005
Kuwaiti Women Win Right to Vote and Run for OfficeEven though Newsweek (sorry, NEWSWEEK) hasn't reported it, I am pretty sure that Kuwait has marked a major moment in Arab history by granting women the right to vote and run for office. While Afghani rioting shows that the suppressive nature of much of the Muslim world means that the reaction to mild offenses is often violent acting-out, Kuwait shows that maybe, just maybe, Islam can be dragged into the 20th Century (we'll worry about the 21st later). When societies open up and allow free exchanges of ideas - from all people - then they will outgrow their petulance and deal with issues maturely and non-violently.
Posted by Jonathan R. on May 16, 2005 05:30 PM
Comments
Marvellous news. :) Jon's post hits the nail on the head: as freedom spreads, terrorism will recede. As with similarly gradual moves towards democratization in Lebanon (and even in Saudi Arabia), I would ascribe this at least in part to the ripple effect from our intervention in Iraq. The Bush Doctrine works.
Posted by: SimonD at May 16, 2005 05:55 PM
This is absolutely awesome. The liberation of Iraq is having some extremely positive side effects.
Posted by: The Valiant Elephant ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.gopbloggers.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at May 16, 2005 06:07 PM
