Massouma al-Mubarak (born 1947) is

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

's first female government minister, sworn in on 20 June 2005. She was educated in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and is a professor of political science.

Biography

Massouma went to the US for higher education in 1971. In 1976 she completed an MA from The

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

. She later earned a doctorate from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

. Since 1982 she has been teaching political science at the

Kuwait University Kuwait University ( ar, جامعة الكويت, abbreviated as Kuniv) is a public university located in Kuwait City, Kuwait. History Kuwait University (KU), (in Arabic: جامعة الكويت), was established in October 1966 under Act N. 29 ...

. She has been active in the field of equal rights for women and also writes a daily column for '' Al Anba'' newspaper. In 2002 she collected signatures on a petition opposing segregation by gender or abolishing coeducation in Kuwait. 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. On 25 August 2007, she resigned as minister of health following a fire in a hospital in

Jahra Al Jahra ( ar, الجهراء) is a town and city located west of the centre of Kuwait City in Kuwait. Al Jahra is the capital of the Al Jahra Governorate of Kuwait as well as the surrounding Al Jahra District which is agriculturally based. Encyc ...

which killed two patients. In the 2009 Kuwaiti parliamentary elections, she and three other women won seats to become the first women to enter the Kuwaiti parliament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mubarak, Massouma al- 1947 births Living people University of Denver alumni Josef Korbel School of International Studies people Members of the National Assembly (Kuwait) Kuwaiti Shia Muslims 21st-century women politicians Academic staff of Kuwait University Government ministers of Kuwait Kuwaiti women academics Women government ministers of Kuwait