The campaign for municipal elections has begun. Candidates fill the newspapers with their platforms, interviews and pictures. The extensive coverage introduces new faces to people and starts a rolling tide of discussion about who is offering better plans.
Reading through some of the published platforms, I came out with several impressions — first was the similarity of most platforms. The second one was that the candidates do indeed have a good idea of the public’s major concerns and are aware of what is expected of them.
The major point, though, is that all the platforms were written by men and for men. I started wondering if our society has a gender complex. At this point I have to ask: Where are the women in all these platforms? Perhaps hiding under the general slogans of serving the community, maybe. But that is not good enough.
To be perfectly honest, three of the candidates mentioned women in their platforms. One says that he aims to create Qur’anic centers for women in his area.
A second states that he will try to create opportunities for women’s participation in the women-only sections, following our usual social norms. The third was a general statement about offering services to women. Now these gentlemen are all honorable men — I am sure of that — and have the best of intentions, we hope, toward their communities, but somehow they need to be aware that their communities include women and women’s needs far exceed what is on offer.
What women need and can offer is participation in their communities’ affairs. If the status quo does not allow women to stand in the elections, then there should be ways of involving women in the electoral procedures and activities.
One of the candidates, Bandar Al-Saleh, said in an interview that he had employed a team of women to make the rounds and convince other women of the importance of the elections and that women could participate indirectly by influencing their male relatives to act positively and vote. He said that the team, consisting of six women, did a survey of about 1,000 houses; the team met women and asked them what their main concerns were and what they wanted from a candidate.
He came up with a list of 45 points which summarized what the families in that particular area want and need. To this man I say, thank you for at least understanding a part of what women can offer and for realizing their influence in their circles and for making that extra effort to find out about an important part of your constituency. But before anyone says anything such as men and women having the same concerns, I want to say that there are areas which women see better than men and vice versa — and that both visions are needed.
Before it was announced that women wouldn’t participate in the elections, women’s groups held meetings to explain that women had the right to participate. Hard on the heels of that, however, women’s participation was ruled out but despite the ruling, the women’s groups still came up with ways that they could help, and be of service to, their communities. In a seminar held in Jeddah a few months ago, a women’s group discussed what women’s participation meant. During the meeting, one of the women — Fatin Bundagji — who announced her desire to run for the elections said that even if women could not run as candidates, their efforts were still needed to help certain candidates. Women can spread the word within their own circles concerning the importance of the elections.
Ms. Bundagji was surely right — women can and are ready to help and they are eager to be heard. In a local paper, a journalist conducted a survey and found out that roughly 20% of the men interested in voting had been influenced by women in their families who were eager for this new political experience to succeed.
On the Saudi elections website — saudielection.com — there is a long article saying that women should not be involved in political activities. The reason of course is that women’s main function in life is to raise children and take care of their families. Doubtless there are many who support this idea. The same people who support this idea do not seem to realize that these are also the main concerns of the muncipalities and so it is logical that women would view these areas in greater depth and detail than most men.
In a project called “The Enlightened Neighborhood,” the Ministry of Education created two teams, one of men and the other of women. The aim of both teams was to eradicate illiteracy in Petromin, a district in Jeddah known for its high crime rate.
The women’s team succeeded in enrolling women in classes to teach them crafts and health and environmental awareness. The director of the illiteracy unit at the girls’ section at the ministry was so enthusiastic about the results that she saw from the women in the district that she intends to teach them the importance of elections and how they can become active and useful members of their communities. In every neighborhood there are problems that need women to deal with them; many women see more details than most men do and their efforts are always needed to create a better environment. If women are not yet ready to run for office or vote, let’s not waste their ideas and efforts; they can still offer a lot.
