Court ruling is a victory for civil liberties

Kuwait's Constitutional Court has decided that wearing the hijab is not a legal prerequisite to become a member of parliament. The landmark ruling, believed to be the first of its kind in the conservative Gulf region, was prompted by a lawsuit initiated by a Kuwaiti citizen, who asked the court to annul the parliament membership of Rola Dashti and Aseel Al Awadi, two female liberal MPs.

The court decision may not put to rest the attempts of conservatives to challenge the inclusion of women in the political and decision-making process, especially those perceived as challenging the prevailing Islamist views of major political groups in Kuwait and some other GCC states, but it certainly set a precedent by upholding the personal freedom of women who choose not to wear the hijab.

The issue of the hijab, the traditional headscarf, and the niqab, the veil that covers the face, continues to stir debate and emotions. It has always been a subject of contention between conservatives and moderates in the Arab world. Recently the Imam of Al Azhar, Egypt's and the Arab world's leading religious university, said wearing the niqab was not a religious duty. It is a social custom that has nothing to do with Islam, Shaikh Sayyed Tantawi was quoted as telling a female student.

He came under fire from religious groups all over the Arab world. The reactions highlighted the great divide over this issue.

Secular groups in the region have always tended to shy away from confronting the Islamist parties, allowing the latter to dominate the cultural and political agendas, thereby curtailing personal freedoms.

Some would like to celebrate the Kuwaiti court decision as a victory over Islamists. But it in fact is more than that. It is a proof that our societies and the laws governing them are tolerant and open-minded, not rigid and male-dominated as the Islamists want us to believe. But it is up to the people to exercise those freedoms.