A Little Enfranchisement for Saudi Women
November 28, 2005, 1:04 pm |
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This past weekend, Saudi women got to vote, and even list as candidates. According to the Chicago Tribune:
Saudi businesswomen went to the polls over the weekend to help choose a new board of directors for the Jiddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. For the first time ever, the list of candidates included women…
There are an estimated 2,800 businesses registered in women’s names at the chamber…
Now the luke-warm news:
By Sunday evening, only about 50 women had turned up to vote, said Fatin Boundagji, director of Khadija Bint Khuwielid Women’s Empowerment unit at the Jiddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Turnout among men is expected to be stronger, but is still uncertain.
The election has been billed as a major step forward for women in Saudi Arabia, especially after women were barred from municipal polls earlier in the year. Despite a budding women’s movement in the kingdom, women are still subject to a host of restrictions, most notably against voting in political elections and driving.
But the fact that women are being allowed to vote in the birthplace of Islam and Wahabiism is still good news. And this is further evidence that President Bush’s push for democratization of the Middle East is working: millions of Afghans have voted twice, millions of Iraqis have voted twice, Lebanon is free of Syrian occupation (and has held elections), Kuwait has granted women the right to vote, and Saudi Arabia held municipal elections, and is now starting to enfranchise women…
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Categories, Tags: Arab/Muslim World
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December 2nd, 2005 at 11:48 am
[…] Add the UAE to the growing list: millions of Afghans have voted twice, millions of Iraqis have voted twice, Lebanon is free of Syrian occupation (and has held elections), Kuwait has granted women the right to vote, and Saudi Arabia has held municipal elections — and the Saudis allowed women to vote and stand as candidates in an election held last week. […]