No woman elected in parliamentary elections in Qatar…

Parliamentary elections were held for the first time in the Emirate of Qatar, Saturday, but no women were elected. It was already clear that the elections would not bring about changes.

About 300 people were allowed to run for 30 of the 45 seats in the Shura Council. According to the Ministry of Interior, male candidates won all 30 eligible seats. So none of the 28 women who were allowed to run for office succeeded.

So far, the prince had chosen all forty-five members of that body himself. The remaining 15 places will be awarded directly by Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who has veto power over all decisions made by the Shura Council. It is not known when the appointments will be announced.

Official figures show that the participation rate in the parliamentary elections amounted to 63.5 percent. This is much higher than in the 2019 municipal elections, when fewer than one in ten voters cast their ballots.

Women’s rights

In Qatar, men have custody of their wives. A woman needs a man’s permission to marry or travel. Recently, women are allowed to independently obtain a driver’s license. The emirate has one female minister, Hanan Muhammad al-Kuwari. She is responsible for public health.

Most of Qatar’s 2.5 million residents are foreigners, and they are not allowed to vote. Of the 330,000 Qataris, only the descendants of Qataris who were already residing in the country in 1930 are eligible to vote or run. To prove this, candidates must be able to refer to documents dating back to the time Qatar was under British protection.

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Denton Watson

"Friend of animals everywhere. Evil twitter fan. Pop culture evangelist. Introvert."

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