Reply #76: Saudi women seek voting rights

[tabatha]

Sara Abbar knew what would happen when she and her 28-year-old daughter tried to register to vote in Saudi Arabia's municipal elections. The vote, set for September, ruled out in advance any participation by the country's 9-million women.

"We will keep trying again and again until we get our right," she said after meeting a resolute "no" from the election official she encountered at a voter registration centre in Jeddah when registration began on April 23.

"The demand for our rights should never be postponed so we will continue calling for them."

The municipal council elections, only the second such experiment in more than 40 years, highlight the contradictions that arise when an absolute monarchy rooted in austere religious authority dabbles in democracy.

http://mg.co.za/article/2011-04-26-saudi-women-seek-voting-rights