Saudi king swears in first women members of advisory council

ARAB NEWS RIYADH: For the first time in the kingdom's history, 30 women took seats in the Shoura Council in Riyadh on Tuesday along with their 130 male colleagues as they were sworn in before the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah.

In his speech broadcast on Al Arabiya Television, the king expressed elation that women were finally participating in the council's proceedings.

“Our goal is based on activating the work of the council with a realization founded on rationality that does not rush into urgency which carries noise with no result,” King Abdullah said. "The development we are working at must be gradual."

The council, also called the Saudi Consultative Council, will hold its first session of its 6th Term on February 24.

Last month, King Abdullah appointed the women to the advisory body after issuing a royal decree amending two articles in the council’s statute and introducing a 20 percent quota for women in the council.

Among the women appointees are two princesses, human rights activists and university scholars.

The council can draft laws, which the king would either pass or reject.

Women in the kingdom had gradually been empowered under King Abdullah's reign. In 2011, he granted women the right to vote and run as candidates in the 2015 local election.

“We refuse to marginalize women’s role in Saudi society,” he had earlier said.

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