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Shoura Council Recommends that Saudi women should have the right to vote
Jeddah – The Shoura Council in Saudi Arabia has now suggested that women in the Kingdom should be given the right to vote. The recommendation came as a surprise to many who now eagerly wait to see if this will materialize into something more substantial for women in the Kingdom.
The recommendation, which has now been sent to King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz for approval, is a significant advancement for women in Saudi Arabia and a hopeful sign that Saudi’s electoral future is moving away from the harsh and distressing aspects of gender inequality that it continues to practice. Unfortunately, this recommendation does not allow for women to stand for election. However, it is a historic and important movement in “conveying the pulse of the Saudi street and the people’s desire for women to be allowed to participate in the municipal council elections,” explained Dr. Abdulrahman al-Enad of the Shoura Council to Alsharq Alowsat earlier this week.
Sadly, Saudi women who have fought for their right to vote were not greeted warmly when they appeared at election polls. Reports from Muslim Media Watch explained that they were met with a wave of insults and violent abuse.
Women in Saudi Arabia face some of the worst examples of gender-inequality in the modern world, yet they continue to speak out against these inequalities and hope that increased pressure may urge King Abdullah to turn this recommendation for women’s suffrage into a reality.
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