Massouma al-Mubarak

Last updated

Massouma al-Mubarak
Born1947 (age 7576)
Education University of North Texas (M.A.)
Josef Korbel School (Ph.D.)
OccupationAcademic

Massouma al-Mubarak (born 1947) is Kuwait's first female government minister, sworn in on 20 June 2005. [1] She was educated in the United States and is a professor of political science. [2]

Biography

Massouma went to the US for higher education in 1971. In 1976 she completed an MA from The University of North Texas. She later earned a doctorate from the University of Denver. [3] Since 1982 she has been teaching political science at the Kuwait University.

She has been active in the field of equal rights for women and also writes a daily column for Al Anba newspaper. [4] In 2002 she collected signatures on a petition opposing segregation by gender or abolishing coeducation in Kuwait. [5]

In June 2005, she was appointed minister of planning and minister of state for administrative development to the cabinet led by prime minister Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah. [6] On 25 August 2007, she resigned as minister of health following a fire in a hospital in Jahra which killed two patients. [7]

In the 2009 Kuwaiti parliamentary elections, she and three other women won seats to become the first women to enter the Kuwaiti parliament. [8]

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References

  1. "Women In Gulf Politics: A Progress Report". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 28 May 2005.
  2. "Kuwait's woman minister sworn-in". BBC. 20 June 2005.
  3. "Person of the Week: Dr. Massouma al-Mubarak". ABC News. 17 June 2005.
  4. "Kuwait Names Woman Minister". Arab News. 13 June 2005.
  5. Diana Elias (11 August 2002). "Coeducation Nears End at Kuwait University". Los Angeles Times.
  6. "Kuwait Names First Woman Cabinet Member". Asharq Alawsat. 13 June 2005. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  7. "Kuwait health minister resigns after hospital fire". Reuters . 25 August 2007.
  8. "Kuwait votes for first female MPs". BBC . 17 May 2009.