Saudi women prepare to run for public office (but will women be allowed to vote?)

JIDDA, Saudi Arabia — Women are preparing to run in Saudi Arabia's first democratic elections next year — but it is far from certain whether they will even be allowed to vote, let alone seek elected office.

The elections for members of 178 municipal councils will be held in three phases, starting Feb. 10 in the Riyadh region and ending April 21 in the Western Province, where Mecca, Jidda and Medina are located.

"I'm a patriot. I consider it my duty to run," said Faten Bundagji, one of the first Saudi women to declare her candidacy. "I want every woman to be excited about the elections."

.....Should female candidates be accepted, campaigning would be problematic given restrictions on women in Saudi society.

They would have to wear the chador, the head-to-foot covering, when venturing outside their homes. Most public appearances would probably be banned because mixing of sexes is not allowed. Campaigning would probably be limited to appearances before female-only crowds in indoor venues.

***Saudi Arabia, one of the world's most male-dominated countries, is preparing to break with tradition and risk the wrath of religious conservatives by allowing women to take part in its first elections.

Plans for municipal elections, a key step towards modernisation and democracy, were announced in October, but the government gave no public indication of whether women would be included as voters or as candidates.

Saudi officials said privately at the time that they wanted to introduce women's suffrage but hoped to slip it through quietly at a later date to avoid a conservative backlash.

Public confirmation came yesterday, in a press release from the Saudi embassy in London. A paragraph describing the election plans said: "It is believed both men and women will be given the opportunity to vote."

Saleh al-Malik, a member of the Shura Council, the kingdom's non-elected parliament, confirmed that women would be allowed to take part, though the government is taking a cautious approach.

He said anyone aged over 21 would be entitled to vote.

Although the law will not state explicitly that women can vote, "there will be no clause saying that women are not eligible to vote or be elected", he said. ..........

http://www.guardian.co.uk/saudi/story/0,11599,1166033,00.html

I was in Saudi during Desert Storm.

As the scuds were landing in and around the capital of Riyadh a handful of women decided that period of attacks was the opportune diversion for them to "break out" and become a part of the living.

Female driving in Saudi is strictly forbidden (by guess who).

Wanna know what happened to these women (about 50)?

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