JEDDAH, 1 January 2006 — Women have been asking for a real role and representation at the Shoura Council but they may not get either anytime soon.
According to local newspapers, the Shoura Council will soon name members of a national women’s committee which will not be independent but function primarily as a consultative body. The committee will have the right to make suggestions if the chairman of the council asks them to.
A source has been quoted by the media as saying that the women will not be members of the council but will be consultants in matters concerning women.
The source dismissed the possibility of women being appointed members of the council during the current session which runs for another three and a half years.
Mohammed Al-Zulfa, a Shoura Council member, told Arab News that the council did not have the legal right to demand or discuss the presence of women in its membership.
“The power of change is in the political decision. This might be the first step in paving the way for women’s entry into the council as active members,” he pointed out.
He did say, however, that he did not believe that women would be appointed to the council in the next three years. “Achievements in 2005 — such as women’s participation in the chambers of commerce and engineering council elections and winning seats plus women’s participation in the national dialogue — are paving the way for women’s participation in the Shoura Council and the municipal council elections,” said Al-Zulfa.
During the past three years, some women have been invited to the Shoura Council to give their opinions on specific issues concerning women. They have in fact performed the same function as the soon to be announced women’s committee.
Hatoon Al-Fassi, an associate professor at King Saud University and one of the women nominated for the committee, was surprised at being included and disappointed by the limited scope of the committee’s role.
Al-Fassi explained: “I hope the committee will not be as has been suggested; if so, there is no need for it and I object to being included. This is not a first step; it is very much the same as what we have now. Women are asked as consultants with no right to make decisions, no authority and their opinions are not taken. This is not the committee we have been asking for.
“What we want is an independent women’s committee, supervising all women’s issues and reporting directly to the king. We want to be a link between the leadership and the executive branches.”
Last week Dr. Salwa Al-Hazaa, head of the ophthalmology department at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh and one of the women regularly consulted by the Shoura Council, said a women’s committee was about to be formed but did not give details.
Women have been asking for the formation of the committee for years but the committee as suggested falls far below their desires and expectations.
