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Saudi king makes historic female appointments
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sandy
Jan 12, 2013, 7:04:56 AM1/12/13
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Saudi King Abdullah has appointed women to a top advisory body for the first time, with decrees published on Friday marking a breakthrough in a kingdom that imposes stringent restrictions on women.
The historic decisions mean that 30 women will now be allowed to sit on the previously all-male 150-seat Shura Council, although women in Saudi Arabia are banned from driving and denied the right to travel without male consent.
The decrees were welcomed by Saudi novelist Badriya al-Bishr as a "promise kept" by the king, who has been treading carefully over the years to empower women in his push for reforms.
The monarch took the decisions following consultations with religious leaders in Saudi Arabia, which applies a strict version of Islamic sharia law, according to the decrees published by state news agency SPA.
The historic decisions mean that 30 women will now be allowed to sit on the previously all-male 150-seat Shura Council, although women in Saudi Arabia are banned from driving and denied the right to travel without male consent.
The decrees were welcomed by Saudi novelist Badriya al-Bishr as a "promise kept" by the king, who has been treading carefully over the years to empower women in his push for reforms.
The monarch took the decisions following consultations with religious leaders in Saudi Arabia, which applies a strict version of Islamic sharia law, according to the decrees published by state news agency SPA.
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