Women won’t be allowed run in Saudi municipal elections

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2004/September/middleeast_September496.xml§ion=middleeast

DUBAI - The General Committee for Municipal Elections in Saudi Arabia has announced that women would not be allowed to run in the upcoming municipal elections ending speculation about women’s role in the February 10 polls, Saudi newspapers reported on Sunday.

Saudi official sources quoted in the Saudi press said the speculations had misunderstood the law, which had clearly stated that “all male citizens can participate in elections.” The law did not use the word female citizen, thus excluding women from contesting elections.

Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Uwaisheg, a legal analyst, quoted by the Saudi newspaper Arab News said that under Saudi law, one cannot exclude a category except based on a written text.

“Excluding a category cannot be done by a committee,” he pointed out. To him, therefore, that means that the decision not to include women in the process is not final. According to the municipal law, the three categories excluded from voting are: military personnel, municipal employees and a newly added category - women.

more

[izzie]

1. Are they worried about monthly trouble?

Odd how 50% of the people in the world have trouble getting their right.

[Mizmoon]

2. This is the part where I can't stand Islam

Yeah, I know Christianity is sexist too. Yeah, whatever. It still doesn't compare to this crap.

This is why I can't stand Islam, and Saudi Arabia in particular. Those 'pious' men want to condemn women to live lives that they themselves would never want to live. Fuckers.

[CarolynEC]

3. Totally agree.

Islam is just riddled through and through with misogyny. Although the American Taliban is doing everything it can to drag Christianity down to the same level. No matter what "flavor" it comes in, fundamentalism is just plain POISON.

[JerseygirlCT]

6. Just remember

that not all Islam is fundamentalist, and not all Islam is misogynistic. The wahhabist strain that the Saudis have embraced is definitely way out there, but there are many more moderate Muslims in the world.

Also much of what is attributed to Islam, especially in the middle east, is really more of an Arab/Persian cultural construct. It pre-dates Islam and is a hold-over from it.

I can't find anything good to say about the Saudis myself, but I hate to see a whole religion tarnished on the basis of one sect.

[Catfight]

4. Very well stated, how true of most religions. I'll never understand

why women accept such a degrading role in society when it is women who create man through their bodies. You'd think women would be revered by men, you'd think.

[JerseygirlCT]

8. Fear of the same, I've always thought.

Need to control something they can't do.

It's not religion, it's a society thing -- it would happen some other way w/o religion.

[JerseygirlCT]

5. Are we surprised?

par for the course for this despicable regime. And these are supposed to be our allies?

[Habibi]

7. Yes, isn't it ironic?

We went to war to bring "democracy" to Iraq, but democracy in SA? Eh, not so much. And yet--they're our closest allies in the war on terra. (Well, they're Boosh's closest allies, anyway.)