BY SAMAR FATANY The government has gradually accepted the inclusion of women in the decision making process. There are increasing signs that conservative families are more willing to allow women to work and a large segment of society has welcomed the participation of women in many fields that were taboo in the past. Women today have become more vocal and are more assertive in their demands. Many are highly qualified and their contributions toward the development of the nation have started to impact change and accelerate reforms. Women activists have played a great role in mobilizing the national base toward social change and prompted the government's decision to allow the participation of women in the Shoura and the municipal councils. The “Baladi campaign”, led by Dr. Nayla Attar, a business consultant, has called for women's involvement in the municipal council elections. Attar said, “We demand that women hold at least three seats on local municipal councils. Even if a woman does not win she still has a right to participate in the work of the council.” “The Khadija Bint Khuwailed Business Center for Women” also succeeded in its relentless efforts to make the Ministry of Commerce scrap the legal representative condition, for women to conduct business. The business center continues to be a major driving force lobbying for new laws and regulations to support working women and to protect the interests of women in the business community. Olfet Qabbani former chairwoman of the industrial committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for transforming women from administrative workers to productive industrialists. She has lobbied for providing incentives to industrialists who employ women. The chamber has been able to offer substantial support to many women in business who are talented and qualified to join large businesses and global firms. Another ongoing campaign is led by social activist and economist, Alia Banaja who is calling for the abolishment of the legal guardian system. Her campaign is aimed at all ministries and government departments which insist that women need to have a male guardian to run their lives. In an open letter to the Ministry of Labor, the campaigners rejected the definition of the guardianship rule, and stressed that society can no longer accept the treatment of women as minors and urged the ministry to apply justice for all. Banaja noted that,“They are backward in realizing the needs of the age and they are stuck to certain outdated sets of conditions and beliefs.” Hopefully, we will soon celebrate the government's decision to abolish the male guardianship rule. Meanwhile, Reem Asaad, economic writer, member of the Saudi Economic Association, and women's rights advocate, led a successful campaign to boycott lingerie stores managed by salesmen. She began her campaign in 2008 and criticized the Ministry of Labor for not implementing the decision to replace salesmen with saleswomen which was issued in 2005 but was never implemented. Asaad also called for hiring women in management, accounting and customer service as a step toward enabling women to enter economic and professional domains. Fatima Qarub, headed the campaign titled, “Enough with Embarrassment”, confirming that many women experienced embarrassing situations with salesmen in lingerie stores. Thousands joined the calls of Asaad, Qarub and others on Facebook and Twitter and the campaign succeeded in creating a public consensus supporting the move to employ women in lingerie stores. Ultimately these campaigns prompted a strong response by King Abdullah ordering the immediate employment of women in lingerie stores and fining anyone who violates the order. More than 28,000 women initially applied for the jobs and the Ministry of Labor established a hotline to receive calls regarding any abuse or violation against the rule to facilitate a safe and comfortable environment for the saleswomen. The ministry even provided training for the new employees. The political participation of women in Saudi Arabia could accelerate much needed social, economic and political reforms. Many women are eager to take on the Shoura role and many have already started lobbying for their membership and are building their expertise to qualify for their new political role. Others are getting ready to run for elections and are preparing for their inclusion in the electoral process, raising public awareness and civic responsibility. Saudi women activists are campaigning on Facebook and are twittering every day to spread social awareness and lead the way toward a more prosperous society and a new modernized Saudi Arabia. — Samar Fatany is a radio broadcaster and writer. She can be reached at [email protected] __
