Saudi Arabia is expected to appoint 30 women on the Shoura Council before the consultative body begins its next annual session. “The expectations are that up to 30 women will be appointed to the Shoura,” sources close to the council were reported as saying. Talks have already begun with several institutions to propose the names of qualified women in order to be appointed on the Shoura. A high-level panel, headed by the king, will look into the nominees and select the final list, it added. The move comes after King Abdullah announced the government’s decision to appoint women members on the Shoura in September.
“We made this decision because we refuse to marginalise women in Saudi society in their roles that comply with the Islamic Shari’ah and following consultations with many of our scholars who supported it,” King Abdullah said. The Shoura Council’s bylaws do not oppose the membership of women and do not specify the gender of the appointed members, the daily reported yesterday. However, since it was founded in 1993, the Council has only had male members.