International
Saudi women may have right to vote soon
11/14/2006
- By AP
Kuwait City, Nov. 14: Saudi Arabia is considering allowing women to run and vote in municipal elections, the kingdom's interior minister said in an interview published on Tuesday in a Kuwaiti newspaper.
"We will look into the possibility of women's participation in municipal elections in the coming period," Prince Naif told Al-Anba daily in an interview in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
He said such participation would give women the "ability to discuss their problems and find solutions for them." The oil-rich kingdom adheres to a strict interpretation of Islamic law, and women are not allowed to drive or to vote and run in municipal elections - the only type of election permitted in the country.
Asked if women in Saudi would be allowed to acquire driving licenses, the Prince said "driving a car in our desert areas with neighbourhoods far apart puts the lives of women in danger and this is something we do not accept as officials responsible for them." Prince Naif told the newspaper there were "more important rights to achieve for Saudi women (than driving cars) such as the right to vote and the right to choose a job."
The kingdom's first municipal elections were held last year, and electoral officials have said women might cast votes in municipal balloting in 2009. Last November, two businesswomen won election to the chamber of commerce of the Red Sea City of Jiddah. This was considered a historic step in the deeply conservative country with strict gender segregation laws.