Saudi women to get right to vote

25 September 2011 Last updated at 15:12 GMT Saudi women face severe restrictions in their working and personal lives Women in Saudi Arabia are to be given the right to vote and run in future municipal elections, King Abdullah has announced.

He said they would also have the right to be appointed to the consultative Shura Council.

The move was welcomed by activists who have called for greater rights for women in the kingdom, which enforces a strict version of Sunni Islamic law.

The changes will occur after municipal polls on Thursday, the king said.

King Abdullah announced the move in a speech at the opening of the new term of the Shura Council - the formal body advising the king, whose members are all appointed.

"Because we refuse to marginalise women in society in all roles that comply with sharia, we have decided, after deliberation with our senior clerics and others... to involve women in the Shura Council as members, starting from next term," he said.

"Women will be able to run as candidates in the municipal election and will even have a right to vote."

Cautious reformer Continue reading the main story Emily Buchanan BBC world affairs correspondent

Saudi Arabia is a conservative society which has been inching towards reform under the leadership of King Abdullah, himself a reformist.

About 10 years ago the king said women should be central to the Saudi economy. Since then, change has been gradual for fear of a religious backlash.

Steps have been taken to reduce segregation and give more respect to women. Now, allowing women to stand and vote in municipal elections is a big step towards political reform, even though the municipal councils have very little power.

The right for women to join the all- male Shura Council could turn out to be even more significant as it is the most influential political body in the country.

The BBC's world affairs correspondent Emily Buchanan says it is an extraordinary development for women in Saudi Arabia, who are not allowed to drive, or to leave the country unaccompanied.

She says there has been a big debate about the role of women in the kingdom and, although not everyone will welcome the decision, such a reform will ease some of the tension that has been growing over the issue.

Saudi writer Nimah Ismail Nawwab told the BBC: "This is something we have long waited for and long worked towards."

She said activists had been campaigning for 20 years on driving, guardianship and voting issues.

Another campaigner, Wajeha al-Huwaider, said the king's announcement was "great news".

"Now it is time to remove other barriers like not allowing women to drive cars and not being able to function, to live a normal life without male guardians," she told Reuters news agency.

Correspondents say King Abdullah has been cautiously pressing for political reforms, but in a country where conservative clerics and some members of the royal family resist change, liberalisation has been very gradual.

In May more than 60 intellectuals called for a boycott of Thursday's ballot saying "municipal councils lack the authority to effectively carry out their role".

Municipal elections are the only public polls in Saudi Arabia.

More than 5,000 men will compete in municipal elections on Thursday - the second-ever in the kingdom - to fill half the seats in local councils. The other half are appointed by the government.

The next municipal elections are due in four years' time.

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PhotoBlog: U.S. funds gym for women in Afghanistan

This gym for women in Kabul is one of several USAID projects in Afghanistan.

John Moore / Getty Images

An Afghan girl practices during gymnastics class at a U.S. funded gymnasium for women women on September 7 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The facility, called the Alzahra Cultural and Sport Association, is the only gym for women in western Kabul and received almost $10,000 as startup money from the U.S. Ambassador's Small Grants Program (ASGP). The two-year $38 million program, run by the American Embassy and USAID, is the main U.S. government initiative to promote women's issues in Afghanistan, including grants for businesses run by Afghan women, promotion of girl's education and gender equality advocacy. In Afghanistan most women cannot read and suffer one of the highest maternal death rates in the world.

John Moore / Getty Images

Afghan girls practice martial arts at a U.S. funded gym for women on September 7, 2011 in Kabul, Afghanistan.

John Moore / Getty Images

Afghan girls exercise during gymnastics class at a U.S. funded gymnasium for women on September 7, 2011 in Kabul, Afghanistan.

John Moore / Getty Images

Afghan girls practice during gymnastics class at a U.S. funded gymnasium for women on September 7 in Kabul, Afghanistan.

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Turkish women urge anti-abuse moves

Demonstrators on Sunday urged the Turkish government to be more accountable for violence against women.Some carried mock coffins and wedding dresses as they marched in Istanbul on SundayProtesters urged government to be more accountable for violence against women2009 survey: 42% were physically or sexually abused by a husband or partnerCritics say Turkey has lapsed in implementing affirmative action for women

Istanbul (CNN) -- Hundreds of people in Istanbul called on Sunday for the Turkish government to be more proactive about protecting women from domestic abuse.

People in the crowd carried mock coffins and wedding dresses as they marched down one of the busiest pedestrian thoroughfares in Istanbul. Protestors also carried signs bearing the names and faces of murdered women.

Demonstrators urged the Turkish government to be more accountable for violence against women.

"We struggle with the government's laws because the government is the first responsible for the women's murders, because they don't protect," said Funda Koc, a 28-year-old teacher and activist.

"We want the government to make strict laws" against harming women, she said.

The organizers of the protest, the Platform to End Women's Murders, say women are murdered every day in Turkey.

According to a 2009 report released by the Turkish government, 42% of women surveyed said they had been physically or sexually abused by their husband or partner.

Turkey has adopted several progressive laws to protect women in the past 15 years, including the 1998 Protection Order against Domestic Violence. Reform of Turkey's Civil Code in 2001 gave women equal legal status to men in the family.

A constitutional referendum last September allowed for affirmative action in favor of women. But critics say the Turkish state has lapsed far behind in implementing these laws.

"Gaps in the law and implementation failures by police, prosecutors, judges, and other officials make the protection system unpredictable at best, and at times downright dangerous," Human Rights Watch said in a recently released report titled, "He Loves You, He Beats You."

CNN's Ivan Watson and Yesim Comert contributed to this report.

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