Manama: Kuwait has declared the annual celebration of Kuwaiti Women’s Day on May 16, reports in the capital Kuwait City said.

The annual day was approved by the government at its regular session on Monday and followed a recommendation by the committee for educational, cultural, social and health committee.

The recommendation was based on a proposal presented by the committee for women’s affairs.

“The cabinet decided to approve the proposal and all official institutions should provide all forms of support to consolidate the status of Kuwaiti women at all levels and to boost their role within the community in order to reach an outstanding local, regional and international status,” the cabinet said, quoted by Kuwait News Agency (Kuna).

May 16 has been celebrated by Kuwaiti women and the supporters of their political rights as a breakthrough in the northern Arabian Gulf country after parliament in 2005 voted 35-23 and passed a bill that gave women the right to vote and to stand as candidates in the legislative and municipal elections.

However, women fared poorly in 2006 in the first parliamentary elections in which they were allowed to cast their ballots and run for seats. No woman could secure a seat in the parliament, but on May 17, 2009, four women were elected to the National Assembly in a historic development for the country that established the first parliament in the region.

Dr Maasouma Al Mubarak, Dr Rola Dashti, Dr Aseel Al Awadi and Dr Salwa Al Jassar, the winners, were university graduates and two were US-educated.

Kuwaiti officials say that women make up 70 per cent of university students and 40 per cent of the Kuwaiti workforce. Women have a strong presence in all professional fields including education, medicine, business, media, banking and the public sectors.

Bahrain and Tunisia are among other Arab countries that have a national day for women.

Women’s Day is a public holiday in Tunisia celebrated annually on August 13, the anniversary of the promulgation of the Code of Personal Status in Tunisia in 1956.

The code came to force on January 1, 1957.

Announced in 2008 by Bahrain’s First Lady and Chairwoman of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), Princess Sabeeka Bint Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Bahrain Women’s Day is celebrated annually on December 1.

Its themes have so far included education (2008), health (2009), volunteering (2010), economy (2011), sports (2012), media (2013) and the military (2014). The theme for 2015 is finance and banking.

International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on March 8.