This article is more than 11 years old

This article is more than 11 years old

A significant crack has appeared in Kuwait's glass ceiling after four women emerged winners in the Gulf state's parliamentary elections at the weekend.

The victory marked the first time women have won parliamentary seats since given the right to vote and run for office in 2005. For the past 50 years Kuwait's parliament has been the sole preserve of men.

In an election that saw fundamentalist groups lose ground, Massouma al-Mubarak, who was appointed Kuwait's first female cabinet minister in 2005, two US-educated professors, Salwa al-Jassar and Aseel al-Awadhi, and an economist, Rola Dashti all won seats in the Kuwaiti parliament.

"Frustration with the past two parliaments pushed voters to seek change. And here it comes in the form of this sweeping victory for women," al-Mubarak said today.

Aseel al-Awadhi told Reuters: "People voted for change because people are fed up with deadlocks. It is time to focus on our priorities inside the parliament."

Kuwait's ruler, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, called Saturday's election – the second in a year – after dissolving parliament two months ago to end an impasse between MPs and the government, which is heavily influenced by the ruling family, over economic reform and alleged corruption.

The clash of wills between parliament and the government has almost halted development at a time when the country is grappling with the global financial crisis and falling oil revenues. Project Kuwait, a plan to boost economic capacity, has never made it beyond committee level because of opposition from some MPs to the involvement of foreign firms in the energy sector.

Although the Islamists – who have opposed the government's economic reforms – lost ground they still form a significant bloc with their allies from the conservative tribal areas. The Islamists saw the number of seats they hold fall to 16 from 24 in the 50-seat assembly. Conservative tribal figures have 25 seats.

Kuwait has no officially recognised parties. Candidates either belong to political groups, run independently or represent their tribes. Voters in Saturday's polls said they were fed up with years of clashes between MPs and cabinet members.

Al-Nisf, a newspaper columnist, said the win by female candidates was an achievement not only for Kuwait but around the region.

"They made it without organised political parties supporting them or a quota system. This is a huge leap forward for Kuwait's democracy," he said.

Iraq's occupation of Kuwait in 1990 played a crucial role in the liberalisation of women's political and social rights. At the time, many women assumed important responsibilities, volunteering in hospitals to compensate for the lack of medical staff, smuggling food, money, and weapons across military checkpoints.