Saudi Arabia, host to one of the world’s most conservative monarchies, has take a step in the progressive direction by\u00a0allowing women to run for public\u00a0office. Over 900 women have began campaigns for the upcoming December elections. Additionally, for the first time in the nation’s history, women were allowed to register to vote. This is a big step forward for Saudi Arabia as traditionally, women are not allowed to go to school, travel, or even drive without a male guardian’s permission.<\/p>\n
While this is a start in giving women more rights, it is far from finished. Women are only allowed to vote and run in municipal elections. Furthermore, corruption has already led to multiple female candidates being removed from local ballots for no particular reason. Women’s rights protestors are still regularly arrested by the government and the fight towards equality still has a long way to go.<\/p>\n
The leader of this movement in\u00a0the government was now deceased\u00a0King Abdullah. Prior to his death however, he passed a royal decree requiring that 20% of municipal seats are given to women. This is important because at the municipal level, half of the officials are elected while the remaining half are appointed by the central government.<\/p>\n
This particular issue is difficult for the international community to influence\u00a0due to the strict Saudi enforcement of women’s rights and the issue of sovereignty. From the United States stand point, there are several\u00a0conflicts that make it difficult to get involved. These include dependence on Saudi oil exports and the instability in the Middle East. For now it would seem that the US and other major western powers will need to let Saudi Arabia deal with this issue internally\u00a0rather than apply pressure to an already delicate situation.<\/p>\n
The video below explains the progress and what needs to be done to establish women’s rights in the male dominated state.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2015\/11\/30\/middleeast\/saudi-arabia-women-candidates\/index.html<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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