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

Nasarwasalam, Iraq, January 30, 2005. Iraqi women set out to vote in the first free elections held in Iraq. Security for the polling site was provided by the Iraqi Security Force (ISF) and members of the US Marines Corps.

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 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]^{[clarification needed]}

1918[]

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic;^[3]
Kyrgyz SSR (Soviet Republic)

1920[]

Albania^[4]

1921[]

Azerbaijan SSR^[4] (Soviet Republic)

1924[]

Tajik SSR^[4] (Soviet Republic)
Kazakh SSR^[4] (Soviet Republic)

1927[]

Turkmen SSR^[4] (Soviet Republic)

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[]

Mandatory Palestine^[4]
French Somaliland^[4]

1947[]

Pakistan^[4] (When Created)

1948[]

Iraq^[4] (first ever free elections were held in 2005)
Niger^[4]

1949[]

Syria^[4]

1952[]

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

1956[]

Comoros^[4]
Egypt^[4]
Mali^[4]
British Somaliland^[4]

1957[]

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

1958[]

Upper Volta
Chad
Guinea

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]

1978[]

Nigeria (North)

1985[]

Kuwait^[9] (first time)

1996[]

Afghanistan (revoked by Taliban)

1999[]

Qatar^[10]
Kuwait^[9] (revoked)

2002[]

Afghanistan (re-granted after the fall of Taliban)

2003[]

Oman^[11]

2005[]

Kuwait^[9] (re-granted)

2006[]

United Arab Emirates^[4]^[6]

2011[]

Saudi Arabia (introduced along with right to run for municipal elections in 2015)^[12]

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 ^ak 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c Apollo Rwomire (2001). African Women and Children: Crisis and Response. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 8. ISBN 9780275962180.
^ 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 ^ak 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] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "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.

[Apollo_Rwomire_2001_8-9] Apollo Rwomire (2001). African Women and Children: Crisis and Response. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 8. ISBN 9780275962180.

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

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

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

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