Day 21: Kuwait National Assembly

Never in my life have I felt like such a celebrity. Today the group visited the Kuwaiti National Assembly, or the parliament. When we first arrived, there weren't many people around, and those who we did speak to seemed very confused by our presence. Parliament was not in session today, and all of the members were in committee meetings until the early afternoon. We were greeted by a staff member from the National Assembly who gave us a tour of the building, including the main assembly room: 

National Assembly Halls

Behind where the Speaker sits 

National Assembly Room 

Yeah, I'm kind of a big deal

After our tour, we sat in the cafeteria, drank coffee and tea, and waited for members of parliament to get out of their meetings. At around 2:30, we were in luck, as members of parliament and the press slowly entered the lobby where we were waiting. Many people immediately came up to us and asked who we were and what we were doing in Kuwait. Press took our picture as we spoke to members of parliament, and I even posed with my Arabic coffee for the Arab Times! 

The group with the press corps from the Arab Times!

We spoke to a few members of parliament - most of them asked us similar questions, like why on Earth were we in Kuwait during this heat - and numerous journalists. One woman journalist we spoke to had a lot to say about Kuwaiti politics. She provided her point of view that in the campaigns here, in does not matter what a candidate wants to do for the economy, education, etc.; what matters is whether or not he prays. This was very interesting to hear, especially since this new parliament is composed of 35 (out of 50) tribals/Islamists. She also said that they do not care about women. We even spoke to an Islamist journalist who said that women had no place in the parliament because they are too pro-government. How's that for blunt?

We also saw the Speaker of the Parliament walk by as we were heading out. Today was a hectic day to be visiting the National Assembly, because we found out that they are expecting the government to submit their resignations tomorrow. By government, I mean the cabinet members, who are chosen by the Emir, as well as the Prime Minister. Six cabinet members have resigned since we arrived just 3 weeks ago, which is absolutely crazy to me. Who knows what will happen before we leave! It was so cool to basically be able to just walk into the National Assembly and speak to parliament members. I can't imagine doing this in another country, especially the United States. We are hopefully returning on Thursday, and I can't wait!

The rest of the day was spent working on our research proposals, which are due tomorrow. We ate a quick dinner at a restaurant next to the hotel and called it a night. Before I sign off, here are some additional pictures I've stolen from my classmates from the past couple of weeks that I wanted to share:

Arabian Horse Farm in Doha, Qatar

Maya and I in true Emirati style in Dubai

Tomorrow we visit Kuwait Oil Company. I'm looking forward to it - I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm sure it will be incredibly interesting! For now, goodnight!