サウジの公職選挙に初めて女性が立候補

サウジの公職選挙に初めて女性が立候補 (日本経済 2005/11/27)

　サウジアラビアで女性が立候補した初の公職選挙が26日始まった。紅海岸の商業都市ジッダの商工会議所役員選挙で、定員12人に71人が立候補した中で、女性が17人を占めた。当選者が出る公算もあるとみられ、従来厳しく制限してきた選挙権など女性の社会的権利の拡大へ向け、突破口となる可能性もある。

　ジッダはサウジ内では比較的女性の社会進出が進み、同商議所の会員約2万1000人の内女性は約2800人にのぼる。投票は男女別に行われ、26、7日が女性、28、9日が男性。早ければ12月1日にも結果が発表される見通しだ。

　商議所役員選は従来は女性は投票権だけで、立候補は政府が今回初めて容認した。サウジ政府は今春初めて実施した地方評議会選挙では女性の投票を認めなかったが、次回は認める方向との見方もあり、商議所選は女性の政治参加へ向けた一歩と位置づけられそうだ。（カイロ＝金沢浩明） (18:43)

November 26, 2005 7:21 PM
Women run for first time in Saudi polls
By Souhail Karam

RIYADH (Reuters) - Seventeen Saudi businesswomen are among candidates in an election which began on Saturday for a local trade and industry chamber, the first vote of its kind in the conservative Muslim kingdom to include women.

A total of 71 candidates are bidding for 12 seats in the November 26-29 election of board members for the Trade and Industry Chamber of Jeddah, a relatively liberal city on the Red Sea.

"We all are very excited and optimistic. I could not sleep in recent days," candidate Lama Sulaiman told Reuters.

"As new faces in the polls we had to work very hard ... The feedback we have had so far was encouraging."

Ulfat Qabbani, who runs a firm manufacturing perfume for export, was optimistic about the outcome of the polls, for which most of the voters will be men. Women account for only about 10 percent of the chamber's members.

"We should win at least two seats in these polls," she said.

Some businesswomen also hope to clinch at least one of six seats on the Jeddah chamber's 18-member board which are appointed by the trade and industry ministry.

King Abdullah has made the promotion of women in society a priority of Saudi Arabia's 2005-2009 development plan, but authorities have emphasised it will have to be in line with the principles of Islam.

"These polls should boost Saudi women's role in society in conformity with Islamic principles and break their isolation, starting with the job market," candidate Qabbani said.

Allowing women to run for the Jeddah chamber "has created a positive stir in Saudi society and heralds a renaissance for Saudi women," she added.

Saudi Arabia held its first nationwide elections, for municipal councils, earlier this year. Women were barred from voting or standing for office but officials have said they will be allowed to stand in the next vote in four years' time.

Women in Saudi Arabia cannot drive, must be covered up and accompanied by a male relative in public.

Riyadh-based architect Nadia Bakhourjy, whose bid to stand in the municipal elections was rejected, learnt on Saturday she had been accepted as the first female candidate for a seat on the Saudi Engineers' Council, which is due to hold an election in late January.

"Ten or 15 years ago the council would not have let me run," Bakhourjy said. "We have seen recently a lot of positive moves from official circles in favour of women. What they are doing is great."


Saudi Women Run for First Time in Polls

A total of 17 female candidates are running in the polls. (Courtesy Al-Watan daily)

RIYADH, November 27, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Seventeen Saudi businesswomen are running in the elections for a local trade and industry chamber, the first vote of its kind in the kingdom to include women.

A total of 71 candidates are bidding for 12 seats in the November 26-29 election of board members for the Trade and Industry Chamber of Jeddah.

"We all are very excited and optimistic. I could not sleep in recent days," candidate Lama Sulaiman told Reuters on Saturday, November 26.

"As new faces in the polls we had to work very hard ... The feedback we have had so far was encouraging."

Ulfat Qabbani, who runs a firm manufacturing perfume for export, was optimistic about the outcome of the polls, for which most of the voters will be men. Women account for only about 10 percent of the chamber's members.

"We should win at least two seats in these polls," she said.

Some businesswomen also hope to clinch at least one of six seats on the Jeddah chamber's 18-member board which are appointed by the trade and industry ministry.

King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz has made the promotion of women in society a priority of Saudi Arabia's 2005-2009 development plan, but authorities have emphasized it will have to be in line with the principles of Islam.

"These polls should boost Saudi women's role in society in conformity with Islamic principles and break their isolation, starting with the job market," Qabbani said.

Allowing women to run for the Jeddah chamber "has created a positive stir in Saudi society and heralds a renaissance for Saudi women," she added.

Poor Turnout

But turnout was poor as only 25 women voted out of some 1,700 or 1.5% of the voters.

Speaking to Saudi Al-Watan newspaper on Saturday, candidate Hessa Al-Aoun said wining elections would not only be through female votes, but rather males.

Candidate Madhawi Al-Hassoun said she would only secure 400 female votes out of 1,700, while she expected more votes from men.

"Winning for the best is the motto of the elections here," she told the Saudi daily.

One of the defects of the candidates' programs was that they did not detail women voters on the required documents of voting in their brochures.

Some of the female voters did not bring along basic documents, which are necessary for voting.

Saudi Arabia held its first nationwide elections for municipal councils earlier this year. Women were barred from voting or standing for office but officials have said they will be allowed to stand in the next vote in four years' time.

The Saudi government is further mulling the appointment of a number of distinguished Saudi women for foreign ministry posts.

Women fight Saudi Arabia business poll

Riyadh, Nov. 26 (AFP): Saudi women voted today to pick a board for the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the start of elections in which 17 of them are standing as candidates for the first time in the conservative kingdom.

“This is a very important step in the history of the kingdom ... It is an opportunity for women to prove themselves,” Olfat Kabbani, running on a seven-strong all-female list, said by telephone from the Red Sea city.

The 17 women are among a total of 71 candidates vying for 12 elected seats on the board of directors, which will have an additional six members appointed by the minister of trade and industry.

Officials said the voting would continue till Tuesday, with businesswomen voting on the first two days and businessmen casting their ballots on the following days.

Some 21,000 members of the Jeddah chamber, or about half the total membership, are eligible to vote, including up to 2,800 women, officials said.

The vote was rescheduled from late September by trade and industry minister Hashem Yamai specifically to enable women to stand after an elections committee had rejected the nominations of seven women.

Women Candidates Woo JCCI Voters; Turnout Low
Maha Akeel, Arab News
Al-Awael group’s Dunya Yunis, Hanan Madani, Amani Abdul Wasae and Buthaina Moumina woo voters on the first day of JCCI elections in Jeddah on Saturday. (AN photo by Maha Akeel)

JEDDAH, 27 November 2005 — Women campaigning for board seats on the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry were out in force yesterday at the registration hall, but women voters were not.

Those who did show up were either unprepared or expressed confusion over procedures and candidates.

After registration, voters were greeted by some of the 17 women candidates as their staffs distributed brochures explaining their programs.

Inside the hall, many of the candidates were seated at tables with trays of sweets and posters behind them to woo the voters.

The first voter came in a little after the opening hour of 8 a.m. and was disappointed to see that some of the candidates weren’t there and that preparations for registration were still under way. One candidate did not show up at all at her table.

The voters continued trickling in throughout the morning, but by noon only around 20 had registered.

Some of them didn’t have their commercial licenses with them or their ID so they couldn’t register to vote. Others wanted to meet the candidates and talk to them before casting ballots later in the afternoon.

“It’s the first day, and it is still early for the voters to rush in,” said Salwa Ridwan of the Al-Awael group. “I expect more to show up in the afternoon and tomorrow.”

Another member of the group is Ulfat Qabbani, the only woman candidate running in the industrialist category out of 18 candidates, making her the most likely woman to win a seat.

“There is fear and reluctance by women to enter in the industrial sector, but this sector is very important for the development of the country, and it is the sector that will provide them with greater investment and job opportunities,” Qabbani told Arab News.

Interestingly, a woman is campaigning for the Small Establishments group that does not include any women but has reserved a seat for whichever candidate, male or female, who wins to join them.

“Voting should not be based on gender, and even though I’m happy with the opportunity allowed for women to run, I chose not to run this time and instead try to learn from this experience in preparation for the next elections in four years,” said Ghada Ghazzawi, campaign manager for the group during the two days for women.

Overall, the candidates and voters were excited about this new experience.

“I think everyone is excited because we want to have our voice heard regardless of the outcome,” said Lana Al-Sulaiman, a member of the Lejeddah group. One voter, however, complained of some disorganization among the candidates. She said some of the women candidates failed to impress her, but being the first time it was only to be expected.

“I think there should be a criterion of who is to be considered a businesswoman and who should be running for a board of directors election because ultimately these members, whether male or female, will represent us nationally and internationally. I was a little disappointed in the way some of the candidates ran their campaigns based on personal attacks rather than solid ideas and achievable programs,” she said.

Although the women candidates are eager to talk with the women voters taking this as an opportunity to raise awareness about any future election participation for women, in this election most of them are depending on the men’s votes.

Out of the 2,000 commercial registrations under women’s names at the JCCI, only around 300 of these businesswomen are active members in the chamber and in running their businesses.