Tying in our lesson/lecture on feminism, King Adullah has announced that women in Saudi Arabia will be given the right to vote, participate in municipal elections, and have the right to be appointed in the consultative Shura council.
The King states, "Because we refuse to marginalise women in society in all roles that comply with sharia, we have decided, after deliberation with our senior clerics and others... to involve women in the Shura Council as members, starting from next term... Women will be able to run as candidates in the municipal election and will even have a right to vote."
The change is expected to take place after the polls that take place on Thursday, September 29th. For women activists, this is indeed a big change and one in which their hard work has finally started to bear fruition. Although Saudia Arabia has always been a conservative nation and deeply rooted in their culture and religion, the change will theoretically ease some of the tension that has arisen from this issue. With this change just right over the horizon, some would say that it is now possible to forge on ahead with the activists' other pursuits as well, such as allowing the women of Saudi Arabia to drive, and leaving the country without the accompaniment of men. While not everyone will agree on this new verdict, it is at least a major win for women's rights' activists.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15052030
By Lauren Marie De Guzman
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