In an unprecedented move last week, the minister of Commerce and Industry granted permission to Saudi businesswomen to stand for the elections to the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) which will be held later in the year. The historic decision adds one more feather to the cap of the 60-year-old JCCI which was the first chamber of commerce in the Kingdom, set up by royal decree 60 years ago. Women’s participation in the elections will not only break the psychological barrier that has kept women from entering public life, their entry will also break down a social barrier. The choice of Jeddah as the testing ground for this experiment signifies JCCI’s capability to carry out the election successfully.
The Jeddah experiment will serve as a model for other chambers in the Kingdom. The chambers have been successful in diversifying the country’s economic life, been instrumental in implementing various reforms and in launching a new style of economic administration — all despite many bureaucratic impediments. The chambers have played a significant role in encouraging the government to privatize several public utilities including telecommunications, mining, private air travel and public sector company shares.
The permission for women to stand as candidates in the election is evidently a recognition of their merit and worthiness to take on key roles in public life. They have proved unequivocally their worth in education, teaching, management and business, apart from organizing and running charity organizations and humanitarian activities. Congratulations to Saudi women. The challenge before them is very serious since the JCCI election will surely serve as an entry for various other activities that include big responsibilities. Success today will be the harbinger of greater success tomorrow.
Society should see and hear what women can achieve. People have been saying things against women entering public life in order to please hardliners; the assumption has been that speaking against women was the right thing to do. The logic of modern times, on the contrary, should lead us to do things that benefit us. Man is the enemy of what he does not know. Most new benefits have their negative sides as well. Life is an experiment and what is important is to derive maximum benefit from it and to minimize negative consequences. The best thing to do in this circumstance is to begin small and gradually widen the scope, depending upon requirements and consequences.
Before the last municipal elections, women’s participation was a much-debated issue. It was recognized then that women had constructive views that would help the deliberations of the municipal councils which made decisions on services affecting every Saudi family. Women’s participation was, however, blocked without a convincing justification except that the elections were a new experiment which required additional experience before women could be allowed to participate.
The conduct and the results of the municipal elections showed in the end that women could have participated without any difficulty. Their absence obviously now demands repetition of the experiment. The idea could as well be applied in the case of the Shoura Council in which several legislation concerning family life and women are being discussed.
Women’s participation is required to make the experiment meaningful. It is likely that the JCCI experiment will be the gateway to a more active role for women in the Kingdom’s public life.
