By Brandy Bailey, Contributor ElectWomen Magazine

Four Kuwaiti women made history on Saturday when they became the first women elected to their nation’s parliament.  This is a huge victory given the conservative nature of Kuwait and the fact that the country’s legislature has been comprised only of men for the past five decades.

Women in Kuwait won the right to vote and run for office in 2005, but had been unable to win any of the 50 parliamentary seats in either of the past two elections.

Out of two hundred and ten candidates that ran for the 50 seats in the general election, sixteen of them were women.  Candidates belong to political groups, run independently or represent their tribes as Kuwait does not have officially recognized parties.

The female winners were women’s rights activist Rola Dashti, education professor Salwa al-Jassar, philosophy professor Aseel al-Awadhi, and Massouma al-Mubarak the country’s first female Cabinet minister.

This was the second time this year Kuwaitis have voted in a new parliament.  This round of elections was held after Kuwait’s ruler, the emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah dissolved parliament back in March after lawmakers sought to question the emir’s prime minister over allegations he misused funds as well as other alleged failures in running the country.  This was just one of many conflicts with Cabinets that continue to be selected by the ruling family.

Many voters casting ballots in Saturday’s polls said they were tired of years of clashes between lawmakers and Cabinet members. Such conflicts have resulted in a political crisis that has led to three elections and five Cabinets in three years.

One man who voted in Saturday’s election said, “Men don’t have credibility anymore.  We’re fed up with crises.”

“The future of Kuwait is at stake,” said Rola Dashti, one of 16 female candidates. The 50-seat legislature has never had a female member, though women were given the right to run for office in 2005. We’ve had our ups and downs. … I think we learned from the downs and we’re ready to move ahead,” she said.