The decline of public support towards women candidates in the parliament of Kuwait

Abstract EN

This paper investigates the issue of declining public votes in support of Kuwaiti women candidates in the Parliament of Kuwait.

The paper proposes an explanation based on the variables and considerations outlined in a number of theoretical frameworks, such as the political culture theory, the rational choice theory and the structural-institutional theory.

The political culture theory includes variables, such as religion and the level of political awareness.

The rational choice theory includes variables, such as electoral considerations and trust in addition to the importance of women who are considered as an ignored civil group.

Finally, the structural-institutional theory includes vari¬ables, such as the absence of regulations like the quota law and the absence of political parties.

The study concludes that the variables of religion, political awareness, absence of quota laws and political parties are the most prominent factors to explain the decline of support towards women candidates in the Kuwaiti parliament.