UNCLAS KUWAIT 000146
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
FOR NEA/ARPI
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KWMN, KU
SUBJECT: MASSES OF KUWAITI WOMEN MOURN THE AMIR WHO
CHAMPIONED THEIR RIGHTS
1. On January 16, a delegation of female EmbOffs and family
members paid a visit to female members of the Al-Sabah
ruling family at Dasman Palace, the late Amir's home, to
express their condolences for the January 15 death of Amir
Shaykh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The palace and
surrounding streets were crowded with women coming to pay
their respects. The approximate 1,000 "condolers" during
the EmbOff visit included a wide cross-section of Kuwaiti
society: young and old, conservative and liberal, all
dressed in black abayas with their faces scrubbed free of
the elaborate make up that is popular in Kuwait, and all
united in their grief. Many had pictures of the deceased
Amir pinned to their gowns and a few even wore hijabs
embroidered with the Kuwaiti flag. Many prominent Kuwaiti
women were in attendance, including civil society leaders,
activists, and academics.
2. Emboffs entered a large hall in Dasman Palace where the
Al-Sabah women were receiving mourners. Approximately 40
family members -- among them wives, daughters, cousins, and
sisters of the Amir -- shook the hands of their guests while
younger family members sat behind the older generation and
looked on. Some of those receiving mourners included: Dr.
Rasha Al-Sabah, Ministry of Higher Education Undersecretary;
Dr. Suad Al-Sabah, activist and writer; Paula Al-Sabah,
American-born daughter-in-law of the Amir; a devastated
Amthal Al-Sabah, the Amir's sister who accompanied him on
his frequent trips for medical treatment; Hussa Al-Sabah,
Director of the House of Islamic Antiquities; as well as
many others including the Amir's elderly first wife and the
mother of his half-brother the Prime Minister.
3. Other female dignitaries were in attendance with their
entourages as well, among them: Princess Johara Bint Al-
Ibrahim, wife of Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz; Shaykha
Fatima bint Mubarak, wife of the late UAE President Sheikh
Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nuhayyan; and Jordanian Queen Rania Al-
Abdullah, who went to high school in Kuwait.
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LEBARON