Kuwait approves women's right to vote, run for office   



[JURIST] In a historic move Monday, the Kuwait National Assembly [official website] passed a law granting women the right to both run and vote in parliamentary elections. The legislation passed in the all-male parliament by a vote of 35 to 23 on an issue that had spurred strong reactions by conservative Islamists on one side and women and human rights activists on the other. The addition of women to the voting population is likely to double the number of registered voters in Kuwait. Saudi Arabia is now the only Middle Eastern country where regular elections are held in which women cannot vote