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Kuwaiti womens political rights have attracted great attention recently, due to the governments efforts in 2005 to passing an amendment to the law in parliament enabling women to vote and be elected as members of parliament. Despite the fact that the constitution of Kuwait had granted women full political rights, the electoral vote prevented women from practicing their political rights. The government, therefore, moved to correct that unconstitutional practice by passing an amendment to the electoral vote on May 16th, 2005 allowing women to vote and be elected. This research argues that structural factors influence the political process of Kuwaiti women being granted their political rights to vote and be elected. These structural factors include the role of the womens movement, the debate during the legislation, the governments tactics, and the influence of regional and international factors. This research seeks to evaluate the impact of these factors on the issue of Kuwaiti womens political rights.

Key words: Womens political rights, Womens movement, Regional and international factors, Legislature, Executive