No headscarf necessary in Kuwait parliament

Kuwait constitutional court rejects bid to unseat two women MPs not wearing headscarf.

KUWAIT CITY - Kuwait's constitutional court on Wednesday rejected an action brought by four voters to declare invalid the election of two women MPs because they refuse to wear the headscarf.

The decision of the court, whose rulings are final, was announced to reporters by the chairman of the court, Yussef Ghanam al-Rashid.

Two of the four women who were elected to parliament for the first time in May refuse to wear the headscarf, which has also been spurned by the only woman appointed in May as minister in the Kuwaiti government.

The emirate's Fatwa Department, which issues religious edicts, ruled early October that Muslim women must wear the headscarf.

Conservative MPs are demanding the authorities enforce the ruling, but their liberal colleagues say it is non-binding, insisting the rule of law and the constitution should be the only points of reference.

Kuwait does not enforce any dress code on women because the constitution guarantees personal freedom.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=35305.