Saudi women to be given right to vote and stand for election in four years
King Abdullah’s ‘cautious reform’ will not take effect until 2015 but welcomed as cultural shift in conservative Islamic country Women in Saudi Arabia will be given the right to vote and to stand for election within four years, King Abdullah announced on Sunday, in a cultural shift that appears to mark a new era in the rigidly conservative Islamic kingdom. The right to vote in council elections will not take effect until 2015, and women will still be banned from casting ballots in elections this Thursday. However, the 87-year-old monarch has invited women to take part in the next shura council, a governing body that supervises legislation. King Abdullah has been trying to implement what he has described as “cautious reform” in the fundamentalist state, where women are strictly denied civic freedoms or any public role. “Because we refuse to marginalise women in society in all roles that comply with sharia, we have decided, after deliberation with our senior ulama (clerics) and others … to involve women in the shura council as members, starting from the next term,” he said in a speech. “Women will be able to run as candidates in the municipal election and will even have a right to vote.” Commentators in Saudi Arabia mostly reacted warmly to the announcement, but said broader change was needed to bring Saudi Arabia into line with other countries. Several said the move was a litmus test of the country’s appetite for more far-reaching reform. “So I can vote, but I can’t get a driver’s licence,” said one Saudi women from Jeddah, who said she had to remain anonymous. “If I use my name I may be breaching the guardianship law here.” Laws demand that a male guardian – a father, brother, or son – accompany women on any trip outside the house. When some women in Riyadh attempted to test it earlier in the year by driving car s, the move was seen as a provocation by authorities and several of the drivers were arrested. Separation of the sexes in public is also strictly enforced. Some Saudi observers say the announcement on Sunday is a nod to the popular participation showcased by the Arab spring that has led to revolts elsewhere in the region. However, democratic themes have so far won little resonance in Saudi Arabia, which is ruled by an absolute monarchy that defers to the Qur’an as the country’s constitution. King Abdullah emerged as a supporter of women playing a greater role in Saudi society two years ago when he was photographed with a group of young female students, none of whom wore the full niqab (face cover) common in Saudi society. He has since backed the establishment of a non-segregated university and has discussed appointing more women to senior positions. Both moves have drawn criticism from senior clerics and even members of the ruling family. An academic at a Riyadh University said she remained sceptical that the reforms would be implemented in time for the 2015 municipal vote. “The possibility for political participation is open, because it being discussed,” she said. “But I am not sure if it will happen. I would love to be able to vote, and think women will flock to the polls [if given the chance]. But I don’t think many will run [as candidates]. “I respect the king for trying to make a change,” she said. “This might encourage women, but they will have to fight hard against social conservatism, even if legally they are allowed to run.” The academic said the Arab spring had created a “sense of embarrassment that so much change is happening all around and the kingdom is standing still”. However, she claimed that the wholesale democratic freedoms being demanded in North Africa and on Saudi Arabia’s borders, in Yemen and in Bahrain, would not suit the desert kingdom. “Saudis do not want to change the royal family,” she said. ” They want … change, but under the family’s stewardship.” A Jeddah-based female member of the ruling family said: “People have it good here. They are sensible enough to know what to demand and what not to. What the king has done is a very good thing, but he knows and we all know that you cannot push a society like this too far too soon. “The west has come to understand that too. Democracy is something that will take the light of generations to arrive here.” Saudi Arabia Middle East King Abdullah Women Arab and Middle East unrest Martin Chulov guardian.co.uk
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on September 25, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News.
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Saudi women to be given right to vote and stand for election in four years
King Abdullah’s ‘cautious reform’ will not take effect until 2015 but welcomed as cultural shift in conservative Islamic country Women in Saudi Arabia will be given the right to vote and to stand for election within four years, King Abdullah announced on Sunday, in a cultural shift that appears to mark a new era in the rigidly conservative Islamic kingdom. The right to vote in council elections will not take effect until 2015, and women will still be banned from casting ballots in elections this Thursday. However, the 87-year-old monarch has invited women to take part in the next shura council, a governing body that supervises legislation. King Abdullah has been trying to implement what he has described as “cautious reform” in the fundamentalist state, where women are strictly denied civic freedoms or any public role. “Because we refuse to marginalise women in society in all roles that comply with sharia, we have decided, after deliberation with our senior ulama (clerics) and others … to involve women in the shura council as members, starting from the next term,” he said in a speech. “Women will be able to run as candidates in the municipal election and will even have a right to vote.” Commentators in Saudi Arabia mostly reacted warmly to the announcement, but said broader change was needed to bring Saudi Arabia into line with other countries. Several said the move was a litmus test of the country’s appetite for more far-reaching reform. “So I can vote, but I can’t get a driver’s licence,” said one Saudi women from Jeddah, who said she had to remain anonymous. “If I use my name I may be breaching the guardianship law here.” Laws demand that a male guardian – a father, brother, or son – accompany women on any trip outside the house. When some women in Riyadh attempted to test it earlier in the year by driving car s, the move was seen as a provocation by authorities and several of the drivers were arrested. Separation of the sexes in public is also strictly enforced. Some Saudi observers say the announcement on Sunday is a nod to the popular participation showcased by the Arab spring that has led to revolts elsewhere in the region. However, democratic themes have so far won little resonance in Saudi Arabia, which is ruled by an absolute monarchy that defers to the Qur’an as the country’s constitution. King Abdullah emerged as a supporter of women playing a greater role in Saudi society two years ago when he was photographed with a group of young female students, none of whom wore the full niqab (face cover) common in Saudi society. He has since backed the establishment of a non-segregated university and has discussed appointing more women to senior positions. Both moves have drawn criticism from senior clerics and even members of the ruling family. An academic at a Riyadh University said she remained sceptical that the reforms would be implemented in time for the 2015 municipal vote. “The possibility for political participation is open, because it being discussed,” she said. “But I am not sure if it will happen. I would love to be able to vote, and think women will flock to the polls [if given the chance]. But I don’t think many will run [as candidates]. “I respect the king for trying to make a change,” she said. “This might encourage women, but they will have to fight hard against social conservatism, even if legally they are allowed to run.” The academic said the Arab spring had created a “sense of embarrassment that so much change is happening all around and the kingdom is standing still”. However, she claimed that the wholesale democratic freedoms being demanded in North Africa and on Saudi Arabia’s borders, in Yemen and in Bahrain, would not suit the desert kingdom. “Saudis do not want to change the royal family,” she said. ” They want … change, but under the family’s stewardship.” A Jeddah-based female member of the ruling family said: “People have it good here. They are sensible enough to know what to demand and what not to. What the king has done is a very good thing, but he knows and we all know that you cannot push a society like this too far too soon. “The west has come to understand that too. Democracy is something that will take the light of generations to arrive here.” Saudi Arabia Middle East King Abdullah Women Arab and Middle East unrest Martin Chulov guardian.co.uk
Posted by
on September 25, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News.
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