Saudi king names women to Shura Council for first time

[Slav Defence]

RIYADH: Saudi King Abdullah appointed 30 women to the previously all-male consultative Shura Council in decrees published on Friday, marking a historic first as he pushes reforms in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

The decrees, published by the official SPA news agency, give women a 20 per cent quota in the Shura Council, a body appointed by the king to advise him on policy and legislation.

One decree amended an article in the council’s statute to give women representation on the body while the other named the 150 members, among them 30 women.

King Abdullah took the decisions following consultations with religious leaders in the kingdom, where women are subjected to many restrictions and are not allowed to mix with men, according to the decrees published by the SPA.

They stipulate that men and women will be segregated inside the council, with a special area designated for females who will enter through a separate door so as not to mix with their male colleagues.

King Abdullah had been carefully treading towards change, introducing municipal elections for the first time in Saudi Arabia in 2005.

In September 2011 he granted women the right to cast ballots and run as candidates in the next local vote, set for 2015.

In announcing those changes, he also said he was planning to name women to the Shura Council.

Women’s rights activists have long fought for the right to vote in the oil-rich Gulf kingdom, which applies a strict version of Sunni Islam and bans females from driving or travelling without the consent of a male guardian.

 

[Ayush]

a welcome move.

 

[xyxmt]

she will work from home because she is now allowed to drive

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

Not a bad start for Saudi womens after the new year. Still a long way to go.

 

[ali786]

she will work from home because she is now allowed to drive

ha lol

post too short!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Slav Defence]

well....it is indeed a good initiative taken by Saudi King!

 

[Type 052D]

A great move for the future.. esp on Women rights.

 

[JanjaWeed]

Liberation in Saudi at their own pace. Nonetheless.. better late than never!!

 

[Hyperion]

After they have spread the disease to rest of the world, it's time to vaccinate themselves.

 

[UmarJustice]

Saudi king swears in first women members of advisory council

RIYADH, Feb 19: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah swore in on Tuesday the country’s first female members of the Shura Council, an appointed body that advises on new laws, in a move that has riled conservative clerics in the Islamic monarchy.

Abdullah, who has not been seen on television since shortly after a back operation in November, was shown on state media sitting in a palace chamber to give a short speech as he swore in the new council members.

King Abdullah is seen as having pushed to cautiously advance the role of women in Saudi society.

The health of the king, who turns 90 this year, is closely watched in the world’s top oil exporter because he has the final say on policy. Major speeches in recent months have been made on Abdullah’s behalf by his heir, Crown Prince Salman.

State media have also listed Salman as chairing the weekly cabinet sessions in place of the king.

“Your place in the Shura Council is not as those who have been honoured, but as those who have been charged with a duty, as you represent part of society,” he said, addressing the new women members.

One fifth of the new Shura Council are women.—Reuters

Saudi king swears in first women members of advisory council | Newspaper | DAWN.COM

 

[somebozo]

she will work from home because she is now allowed to drive

Exactly I was thinking the same thing...how will she get to work?

 

[Contrarian]

KSA can not remain isolated. There will be change or there will be discontent and eventually rebellion.