Timeline of first women's suffrage in majority-Muslim countries

This timeline lists the dates of the first women's suffrage in Muslim majority countries. Dates for the right to vote, suffrage, as distinct from the right to stand for election and hold office, are listed.

Some countries with majority Muslim populations established universal suffrage upon national independence, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In most North Africa countries, women participated in the first national elections or soon following.^[1] Some dates relate to regional elections and, where possible, the second date of general election has been included. Even countries listed may not have universal suffrage for women, and some may have regressed in women's rights since the initial granting of suffrage.

Timeline

1917

Crimean People's Republic^[2]

1918

1930

Turkey^[4] (municipal elections)

1932

Maldives^[4]

1934

Turkey^[4] (national elections)

1938

Uzbek SSR^[4] (Soviet Republic)

1945

Senegal^[4]
Indonesia^[4]

1946

French Somaliland^[4]

1947

Pakistan^[4] (Upon its national independence)

1948

Iraq^[4]
Niger^[4]

1949

Syria^[4]

1952

Lebanon^[4] (An educational requirement).^[5]
Ivory Coast^[4]

1956

1957

Lebanon^[4] (universal).^[5]
Malaya^[4]^[6] (Now Peninsular Malaysia)

1958

1959

Tunisia^[7]
Brunei

1960

Gambia^[4]

1961

Sierra Leone^[4]
Mauritania^[4]

1962

Algeria^[4]^[6]
Brunei^[8] (revoked)

1963

Iran (after a referendum)^[4]^[6]
Morocco^[4]^[6]

1964

Libya^[6]
Sudan^[4]

1965

Afghanistan (first time)

1967

South Yemen^[4]

1970

North Yemen^[4]

1972

Bangladesh^[4]^[6] (Bangladesh achieved independence on December 16, 1971 and women suffrage was never barred)

1973

Bahrain^[7] (Bahrain did not hold elections until 2002)

1974

Jordan^[4]^[6]

1976

West Bank (women allowed to vote in local elections for the first time; at the previous election, in 1972, only male property owners could vote)^[9]

1978

Nigeria (North)

1985

Kuwait^[10] (first time)

1996

Afghanistan (revoked by Taliban)
Gaza Strip (first elections held in the territory since 1923)^[11]

1999

Qatar^[12]
Kuwait^[10] (revoked)

2002

Afghanistan (re-granted after the fall of Taliban)

2003

Oman^[13]

2005

Kuwait^[10] (re-granted)

2006

United Arab Emirates^[4]^[6]

2011

Saudi Arabia (introduced along with right to run for municipal elections in 2015)^[14]

References

^ Caraway, Teri L. (2004). "Inclusion and Democratization: Class, Gender, Race, and the Extension of Suffrage". Comparative Politics. 36 (4): 443–460. doi:10.2307/4150170. JSTOR 4150170.
^ Pipes, Richard (1997). The Formation of the Soviet Union: Communism and Nationalism, 1917-1923. Harvard University Press. p. 81. ISBN 9780674309517.
^ Tadeusz Swietochowski. Russian Azerbaijan, 1905-1920: The Shaping of a National Identity in a Muslim Community. Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 0521522455, 9780521522458, p.144
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj Lewis, Jone Johnson. "International Woman Suffrage Timeline". About.com. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
^ a b Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook : Volume I: Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia. Oxford University Press. 2001. p. 174. ISBN 0191530417.
^ a b c d e f g h "Timeline of Women's Suffrage Granted, by Country". Infoplease. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
^ a b "A World Chronology of the Recognition of Women's Rights to Vote and to Stand for Election". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
^ "Timeline: Brunei". BBC News. 2011-01-11. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
^ Pro-plo, Communist Sweep in West Bank Elections: 72.3% of Eligible Voters. Including Women, Particip JTA, 13 April 2013
^ a b c Apollo Rwomire (2001). African Women and Children: Crisis and Response. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 8. ISBN 9780275962180.
^ "PALESTINIAN WOMEN VOTE FOR CHANGE". Chicago Tribune.
^ Henderson, Simon. "Women in Gulf Politics:A Progress Report". Washington Institute. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
^ Al Kitbi, Ebtisam (20 July 2004). "Women's Political Status in the GCC States". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
^ "Women in Saudi Arabia 'to vote and run in elections'". BBC News. London. September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.

[1] Caraway, Teri L. (2004). "Inclusion and Democratization: Class, Gender, Race, and the Extension of Suffrage". Comparative Politics. 36 (4): 443–460. doi:10.2307/4150170. JSTOR 4150170.

[2] Pipes, Richard (1997). The Formation of the Soviet Union: Communism and Nationalism, 1917-1923. Harvard University Press. p. 81. ISBN 9780674309517.

[3] Tadeusz Swietochowski. Russian Azerbaijan, 1905-1920: The Shaping of a National Identity in a Muslim Community. Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 0521522455, 9780521522458, p.144

[about-4] ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj Lewis, Jone Johnson. "International Woman Suffrage Timeline". About.com. Retrieved 2 November 2013.

[Oxford_University_Press-5] Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook : Volume I: Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia. Oxford University Press. 2001. p. 174. ISBN 0191530417.

[ip-6] "Timeline of Women's Suffrage Granted, by Country". Infoplease. Retrieved 2 November 2013.

[autogenerated2-7] "A World Chronology of the Recognition of Women's Rights to Vote and to Stand for Election". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 2 November 2013.

[8] "Timeline: Brunei". BBC News. 2011-01-11. Retrieved 2011-04-24.

[JTA-9] Pro-plo, Communist Sweep in West Bank Elections: 72.3% of Eligible Voters. Including Women, Particip JTA, 13 April 2013

[Apollo_Rwomire_2001_8-10] Apollo Rwomire (2001). African Women and Children: Crisis and Response. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 8. ISBN 9780275962180.

[11] "PALESTINIAN WOMEN VOTE FOR CHANGE". Chicago Tribune.

[12] Henderson, Simon. "Women in Gulf Politics:A Progress Report". Washington Institute. Retrieved 2 November 2013.

[13] Al Kitbi, Ebtisam (20 July 2004). "Women's Political Status in the GCC States". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 2 November 2013.

[14] "Women in Saudi Arabia 'to vote and run in elections'". BBC News. London. September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.