科威特妇女获得投票权

Kuwait Women Gain Vote

科威特妇女获得投票权

 

Since the end of the 1991 Persian Gulf¹ War, Kuwait has celebrated² February 26 as its "Liberation Day," marking the defeat of its Iraqi occupiers. Kuwait's women now say they have a second "Liberation Day," May 16, when the country's National Assembly voted 35 to 23 with one abstention to enfranchise³ women.

 

To the women of Kuwait, the two "liberation days" are linked. Political activist⁵ Rola Dashti, a member of the Kuwait Economic Society, says their struggle for political equality gained momentum⁶ during and just after Iraq's occupation.

 

Rola Dashti: We felt after liberation that we deserved better because every time the country called for anything from its citizens when it was occupied, the women were at the forefront serving their country. And we expected that we should have it [political rights.]

 

But Kuwaiti women who pushed then for political equality were rebuffed by lawmakers who championed tradition over fillness. Then, in 1999, Kuwait's head of state, Emir Sheikh Jaber al-Sabah, issued a decree calling on the National Assembly to grant women the right to vote. But a powerful coalition⁷ of tribal⁸ interests and Islamists rejected it. Many Kuwaiti women were infuriated, especially those prominent in business, government and society.

 

But Sheikh Jaber did not forget Kuwait's women. Recently, he once again called on the National Assembly to pass a measure enfranchising⁹ women. As Foad Ajami at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC observes, the Emir also put political muscle behind his wishes.

 

Foad Ajami: The fundamental difference is the pressure the government applied¹⁰ this time around. It didn't stand aside and let the contending forces play out - the intellectuals and the civil society and the Kuwait city people versus¹¹ the Islamists and the tribes and the people in the hinterlands of Kuwait. This time, the government chose to push for the franchise⁴ of women.

 

American University of Kuwait President Shaffiq Ghabra says a member of the Emir's family put direct pressure on lawmakers.

 

Shaffiq Ghabra: Sheikh Sabah, the prime minister, worked in a very intelligent way: pushing and pulling, convincing parliamentarians, providing all kinds of pressures in order to get that vote moving.

 

When women's political rights came up for a vote on May 16th, Badrias Darweesh at The Kuwait Times newspaper says the unified¹² support of the ruling al-Sabah family, which holds many Cabinet posts, made the critical difference in passing the bill.

 

Badrias Darweesh: We didn't get a majority, if you exclude the ministers. Don't forget [that] among the 35 [yes votes], there are 15 ministers in the cabinet. They were asked by Sheikh Sabah to vote 'yes.' So if you take these out, we had 20 parliamentarians with us.

 

With the passage of the bill granting women the vote and the opportunity to run as political candidates, activists¹³ such as Rola Dashti say that while mindful of Islamic beliefs, they now plan to bring a full slate¹⁴ of issues to the National Assembly.

 

Rola Dashti: We do have things that are restricted by Sharia [Islamic] law which we will not deviate¹⁵ from, but there is a lot of civil law which women will be changing in terms of divorces and marriages. But more importantly, there are more social issues like employment, education and issues of economic resources. So, there are issues that women will be bringing to the table.

 

Analysts¹⁶ note that as many as 200,000 women could register to vote, many more than the roughly 135,000 men entitled to cast ballots¹⁸. But Badria Darweesh at The Kuwait Times warns that some women will still be pressured by traditions, at least in the beginning, to vote as others tell them to.

 

Badria Darweesh: Some of them, yes, are going to 'go tribal' because they will be pushed by their tribes and their families. And we cannot deny that we're living in a tribal society.

 

But Ms. Darweesh says that should change when women realize that the secret ballot¹⁷ means they can vote as they like regardless of family or tribal wishes.

 

While Kuwait has joined neighboring Persian Gulf states Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman in granting women the right to vote, Kuwait's move came because of direct intervention¹⁹ by the country's top leadership. The Islamist groups and tribes that opposed it have not changed their position. Many analysts say because the enfranchisement²⁰ of women is not universally accepted in Kuwaiti society, even among some women, this change in the country's social order may be a source of friction²¹ for years to come.

 

For focus, I’m Jeffrey Young.

 

注释：

abstention [Eb5stenF(E)n] n. 放弃；弃权

enfranchise [in5frAntFaiz] vt. 给予选举权

momentum [mEu5mentEm] n. 动力

rebuff [ri5bQf] v. 回绝

champion [5tFAmpjEn] vt. 拥护，支持

decree [di5kri:] n. 法令，政令

infuriate [in5fjuErieit] vt. 激怒

intellectual [7inti5lektjuEl] n. 知识分子

hinterland [5hintElAnd] n. 内地，穷乡僻壤

parliamentarian [5pB:lEmen5teEriEn] n. 议事法规专家，国会议员

deviate [5di:vieit] vi. 背离，偏离

Qatar [5kB:tEr] n. 卡塔尔

Oman [Eu5mB:n] n. 阿曼（阿拉伯东南部沿海地区）

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

3 enfranchise   

v.给予选举权，解放

参考例句：

• The company voted to enfranchise its 120 women members.公司投票决定给予其120名女职员选举权。
• If the city's foreign residents are enfranchised,they won't be able to vote until 1996.如果该市的外国居民获得选举权，他们要到1996年才能投票。

4 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

8 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

9 enfranchising   

v.给予选举权( enfranchise的现在分词 )；（从奴隶制中）解放

参考例句：

10 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

11 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

12 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

15 deviate   

v.(from)背离，偏离

参考例句：

• Don't deviate from major issues.不要偏离主要问题。
• I will never deviate from what I believe to be right.我绝不背离我自信正确的道路。

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

17 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

18 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

20 enfranchisement   

选举权

参考例句：

• It is not true that the enfranchisement of all will result in racial domination. 给予全体人民以公民权将导致种族统治，这种观点是不正确的。 来自互联网

21 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。