Headline News
Women seek vote in Saudi elections
Published Date: April 27, 2011
JEDDAH: Sara Abbar knew what would happen when she and her 28-year-old daughter
tried to register to vote in Saudi Arabia's municipal elections. The vote, set
for September, ruled out in advance any participation by the country's 9
million women. "We will keep trying again and again until we get our right,"
she said after meeting a resolute "no" from the election official she
encountered at a voter registration center in Jeddah when registration began on
April 23. "The demand for our rights should never be
postponed so we will continue calling for them.
The municipal council elections, only the second such experiment in more than
40 years, highlight the contradictions that arise when an absolute monarchy
rooted in austere religious authority dabbles in democracy. The kingdom allows
no political parties or an elected parliament. Religious police patrol the
streets to enforce segregation of the sexes and ensure women are modestly
dressed. Its government announced in March it would hold polls for half the
seats in municipal councils, but ruled out female can
didates or voters. Local officials cited logistical difficulties arranging
sex-segregated polling stations.
The decision sparked a campaign which Abbar and her daughter have joined called
Baladi, Arabic for My Country, organised by women activists on Facebook and
Twitter, to show up at polling stations around the kingdom and demand their
right to vote. Slogans aimed at encouraging men to register were plastered on
buildings designated for voter registration. "Be a part of the decision making
process," read one.
But in many parts of the kingdom, it was the women who responded to those
calls. From the Western province in Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah, to the Eastern
province and even the capital of Riyadh, dozens of women headed to voter
registration centers on April 23 to demand participation. "Through this
pressure we are attempting to change the decision, saying that the reason given
is not convincing," said Nailah Attar, one of the campaign organizers. "We will
continue trying until they stop us.
Organizers intend to force the issue of their participation through the end of
registration on July 28. "We expect that (female participation) can happen this
year, and until the last minute we will keep thinking that and we have high
hopes for it to happen," said Norah Alsowayan, who is based in Riyadh. For her,
the attempt to vote could chip away at Saudi Arabia's "guardianship" system,
which requires women to show written permission from a father, husband or
brother in order to travel, work or undergo c
ertain surgeries. "Women here are looked at as minors and it is crucial for
them to be recognized as competent individuals. If that happens there will be
positive steps to follow and the society's outlook on women will change,"
Alsowayan said.
Activists dismiss the claim of logistical barriers to women voters, noting that
2005 elections for the other half of council seats also excluded women, and
that an election scheduled for 2009 was delayed on grounds of other logistics.
"If we don't seek our right, no one else will seek it for us," said one
would-be voter, Yasmine Attar, outside a Jeddah voting registration center.
"All the steps that have been taken for women's rights were fought for, it
wasn't given to them.
While groups of women across the country struggle to register for the vote, a
growing number of male activists say there is no point in voting at all. While
the municipal councils' role is to oversee projects headed by municipalities,
many citizens complain the councils do have no real authority or influence in
decision making. Blogger Mahmoud Al-Sabbagh says the country's first-ever
municipal elections in 1939 gave more authority to councils than the latest
round in 2005. Councils then could oversee and a
pprove municipal projects, whereas their role now is limited to suggestions
submitted to central authority, he wrote.
I will certainly abstain from participating in electing a puppet municipal
council with no power," Sabbagh wrote on his Twitter page on April 23, calling
others to do the same. Sabbagh and fellow activists plan to register for the
elections before abstaining from voting in order to demonstrate the number of
boycotters. "We should all issue electing cards starting from today, April 23,
before abstaining from voting in September," Sabbagh, a resident of Jeddah,
posted on his Twitter page on the first day of
registration.
The boycott calls underline discontent with the pace of reforms Saudi King
Abdullah promised after coming to power in 2005. They have languished in a
struggle between conservatives who fear change and liberals who want it
intensified. "Men have gained their right to participate so they don't have the
problem," said Alsowayan. "We still did not get that right as women and now it
is our goal to obtain that right." - Reuters
Local News
Egypt PM's visit symbolizes strategic weight of Gulf
KUWAIT: Current visit by Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf reflects the
strategic significance and weight of the Gulf region through...
* Arab media forum concludes with calls for more professionalism
* Fear overwhelms expats entering employment sector in Kuwait
* Can sustainable development work?
* US Ambassador insists on protecting intellectual property rights
* Team to promote e-learning strategy awareness
* University students from Kuwait to compete in Imagine Cup finals
* Kuwait envoy meets Brazilian official
Regional News
Libya descends into civil war
TRIPOLI: Britain and the United States plan to step up military pressure on
Muammar Gaddafi yesterday, as the Libyan leader's...
* Yemen rivals to sign power transfer plan
* Egyptian court scraps land sale to Palm Hills
* West's caution on Syria jars with Libyan action
* Behind front-lines, Libyan rebels escalate media war
* 2 Yemeni protesters killed
* Rebels urge Egypt to block Gaddafi's fund
* Egypt makes concession to anti-governor protesters
Stratfor
H
------------------------------------
Post message: [email protected]
Subscribe : [email protected]
Unsubscribe : [email protected]
List owner : [email protected]
Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
