Women and Political Participation

Country	Year women received right to vote or stand for election	Year  women first elected (E) or appointed (A) to parliament	% Parliamentary Seats Occupied by Women 1995        2008                   Jan. 2011
Algeria	1962	1962 (A)	7	7.7	7.7
Bahrain	1973+	2006	0	2.5	2.5
Egypt	1956	1957 (E)	2	1.8	12.7
Iran	1963	1963 (A)	4	2.8	2.8
Iraq	1980	1980 (E)	11	25.5	25.2
Jordan	1974	1989 (A)	1	6	10.8
Kuwait	2005	2009 (E)	0	0	7.7
Lebanon	1952	1991 (A)	2	4.7	3.1
Libya	1964	+	0	7.7	7.7
Morocco	1963	1993 (E)	1	10.5	10.5
Oman	**	**	0	0	0
Qatar	**	**	0	0	0
Saudi Arabia	**	**	0	0	0
Syria	1953	1973 (E)	10	12.4	12.4
Turkey	1930	1934 (E)		9.1	9.1
Tunisia	1959	1959 (E)	7	22.8	27.6
UAE	2006	2006 (A)	0	22.5	22.5
Yemen	1967***	1990 (E+)	1	0	0.3

Sources: Interparliamentary Union, Women in National Parliaments http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm last accessed February 2011; and UN, The World’s Women 2000, Table 6A and its updated on-line version as of 28 June 2005. +No information or confirmation available ** Women’s right to vote and to stand for election not yet recognized. *** Refers to the former People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen