Arab Women - Out of the Shadows

I found this very interesting article on The Economist's website. For the first time in ages, it's not all doom and gloom and talks about some interesting developments for women across the Arab world.

This bit about Kuwait sounded bizarre, however:

In Kuwait, too, religion is being used to push reform. Five years ago, Islamists in the country's parliament blocked a law that would have granted women the right to vote and run for office. The same law is being tabled again this year, but this time several Islamist MPs have defected to the liberals. One reason is a fatwa recently issued by a prominent cleric, which questions the reliability of the source who, 14 centuries ago, reported the Prophet Muhammad as saying "A nation commanded by woman will not prosper".

I remember reading about the fatwa, but I honestly don't recall - nor can I imagine - any of our Islamist MPs coming to their senses that quickly or anytime soon!