Six years ago, the Saudi Arabian government placed a ban on women’s suffrage. Now that ban is being lifted from Saudi women who will be eligible for office and will be able to participate in elections in 2015.
Saudi Arbia King Abdullah, also called the Reformer, announced on Sept. 25 his decision to the Shura council.
Abdullah was quoted Saudi Arbian women are now allowed to vote and run for office becaue they refuse to marginalize the role of women in Saudi society.
“This is a great idea,” Saudi Student Organization (SSO) President Mohammed Omayrah.
“This decision grants legitimacy to Saudi women,” Mervat Odeh said, a language instructor at USI.
Odeh is Palestinian, which means she is able to vote, drive a car, hold public office and integrate with members of the opposite sex. She said that other Arab nations are ruled under written law, established by former colonial powers, while Saudi Arabia is ruled under Sharia law (Islamic law).
“It is easier to make change with written law,” she said. “If you question Saudi laws, the argument usually ends at ‘God said so.’”
The decision will not go into effect until the municipal elections of 2015, due mainly to the fact that the 2011 elections were held on Sept. 29, four days after the announcement was made.
Abdullah consults with the appointed Shura council to determine the direction of public policy. Shura currently consists of 170 men, and like Congress, serve as representatives to their respective districts. Odeh said that as with any change, it is met with resistance.
“But the king was smart,” she said. “He has given the public four years to prepare themselves for this transition.”
Women and supporters are given time to become trained and informed politically, and resisters are given time to either cope, or attempt to change the king’s mind.
Odeh said the King has given himself room to negotiate down. By going straight for the suffrage issue, it will become easier to implement policies like women driving.
Omayrah said the majority view is that the culture is “expanding and adapting within certain limits.”
“Women are the most important people in Saudi culture,” Omayrah said.
“All women in my country are like queens, and queens don‘t have to drive,” sophomore business administration major from Saudi Arabia Khaled Alshammari said.
Women may not leave the house without permission from a man, so she may be forbidden by a man to vote. If they are allowed to vote, they may be pressured by their male counterpart to vote a certain way.
“Now women will have a direct voice in government,” Odeh said. “They will be able to express themselves as a group to the king, instead of having men do it for them.”
“Women are not scared anymore,” Odeh said.
Less than 15 percent of employees in the general workforce are women, that is triple what it was in 2005.
The reason for such change is “pride in our country,“ Omayrah said.
There are currently about 80 Saudi Arabian students at USI, most of which are involved in the English as a Second Language International program (ESLI). Odeh said the real change must come from the students. Saudi exchange students in American schools are at a great advantage, they can view American ideals and attitudes towards women and begin to accept them.
“The may start to balance what they have been taught and what they have learned,” Odeh said. “This is a single huge step in a long process.”
