Saudi Arabia: First woman councillor elected

[Gabriel92]

Saudi Arabia: First woman councillor elected - BBC News

 

[Susimi]

This is a pretty big step in what many will call a right direction. Saudi Arabia is already pretty westernised and this is just another move in that direction. I think it's pretty good for the country and their relations with other western nations.

 

[Scorpion]

Saudi Arabia: First woman councillor elected - BBC News

This is a pretty big step in what many will call a right direction. Saudi Arabia is already pretty westernised and this is just another move in that direction. I think it's pretty good for the country and their relations with other western nations.

Its a welcome news indeed however, this is not the first. Saudi Arabian women are very important component in the society and are playing very critical role in many fields.

@Susimi I don't know how that relates to being westernized! There are around 65 muslim countries and 22 Arab countries in the world where women contribute just like their counterparts. Social and cultural differences exist in every society. For example, Its considered downgrading for women to work in restaurants, retail sales clerk, janitor, cook, cashier...and many where in other countries is normal. In Saudi Arabia, women are encouraged to work as physicians, lawyers, teachers, managers....etc rather engage in a low paying job that might left them vulnerable to being exploited one way or another.

 

[Corzhens]

I had seen this thread but it's only now that I get to read it. At first I thought it might be something else but now it dawned on me that a woman councilor is a government official in a chauvinistic (pardon me for the word) country. I have friends who have worked in Saudi Arabia so I know that women are treated as second class citizens. They cannot walk side by side with their husband in public. Also, women are not allowed to talk to men in public. So is that woman councilor a paradigm shift in Saudi Arabia?

 

[Scorpion]

I had seen this thread but it's only now that I get to read it. At first I thought it might be something else but now it dawned on me that a woman councilor is a government official in a chauvinistic (pardon me for the word) country. I have friends who have worked in Saudi Arabia so I know that women are treated as second class citizens. They cannot walk side by side with their husband in public. Also, women are not allowed to talk to men in public. So is that woman councilor a paradigm shift in Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Shoura council (parliament) consist of both gender so this here isn't something new. The rest of your post is completely untrue. Google can help if you want to learn about Saudi Arabia. Its unwise to speak about something that you don't know of or experienced as it will make you look bad at the end.

 

[jliggins2002]

This is just wonderful not only for Saudi Arabia but the entire world. Many focus on the way woman are treated in the middle east, when overall every country has it issues with recognizing woman as equal to men. I hope this causes a ripple effect around the world. Let the most qualified person do the job. If Saudi Arabia can elect a woman to this high position all Western nations should really take another look at how they treat their own women. The talk has always been we treat women better, well the gap is closing so lets keep raising the bar!!!!!