Local press: Women and municipal elections

Author: 
HAYA AL-MANIE | AL-RIYADH
Publication Date: 
Mon, 2011-04-25 01:18

The only difference between Saudi Arabian Airlines and the municipal council is that the second was born sick, whereas Saudi Arabia Airlines was unconscious for many years and woke up years later to discover that the world had changed, and to find that it was required to serve a nation in which traveling had become part of the culture.
I would like to tell my sisters that we did not lose anything by not joining the municipal council. We should be angrier instead at some government departments for not recognizing our rights to hold a Saudi national identification card, while other government departments do recognize this right.
The other big problem is that a woman cannot acquire her own or her children’s passport at the relevant department without a male guardian present. If the male guardian is outside the country, he has to legally authorize another person through the Saudi embassy abroad. The situation with regard to a woman who cannot acquire her own passport is the same as the woman who holds the Saudi national identification card. What about women with no legal guardians? It is a basic right for a woman to obtain her ID and passport.
We also have the right to open women sections at government departments, where one woman can serve another. Some of us do not have legal guardians for whatever reason. Some depend on themselves, because they are businesswomen and do not need a man to move.
Personally speaking, more important than female participation in elections is a strong woman presence at the Shoura Council so that she can participate in decision making. We have to admit that women are completely absent from decision making in the sector they work. I do not exaggerate if I say that the job of some women working in certain departments is to collect all the papers for men so that they only can make the decisions. In such a situation, participation in elections is not the main priority.
We should not forget that there are many women who are deprived of their inheritance and are made to believe that inheritance is only a male right. There is no clear law that protects women from being forced into a marriage. Consequently, many fathers coerce their daughters into marriages and sometimes even force them to divorce. Women on social welfare are poor and get even poorer when their male guardians take their money without their consent.

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