Fatima Muhammad

Saudi Gazette



Female members in the Shoura have been in the spotlight ever since their induction into the council. Their appointment by King Abdullah in January 2013 marked a turning point in Saudi women empowerment. The Shoura has 150 appointed members 20% of which have to be women, that is 30 members. Saudi Gazette spoke to Shoura female members, social activist, and media personnel to highlight attainments, expectations and challenges of women in Shoura.



Dr. Selwa Al-Hazzaa, a Shoura member, refused to limit the contribution of women in the Shoura Council to women issues only. “There are 13 committees and we are equally distributed, with every committee having 2 to 3 female members. We are involved in everything.”



The availability of female perspective in these committees have been a major contribution to the council. “It is ‘fruitful’ as previously the council would contact female consultants and decisions would take time before being taken,” Al-Hazzaa said, adding, “Add to that female consultants had no right to vote. However, with the presence of female members things get processed on the spot, including discussions and voting.”



Coming from a health sector background Al-Hazzaa is also a professor in the college of medicine at King Faisal University. She has been in both the health and the economic committees at the council. She now has a proposal for the health sector, which she will present to the council and believes it will enhance and develop the sector.



Speaking about her experience in the Shoura, she said, “I have learned a lot, we are balancing between the two (work and Shoura duties), it’s a new experience.”



She explained the first two months in the council were a ‘learning curve’ for women. Yet women in the council are those who are from top positions in their fields, where they are practicing authority. “Those positions, just like being member in the Shoura, dictate that there?s no room for being emotional. We have to leave our emotions at home,” she said, adding that female members in the council are not young but experienced and come from variety of fields.



Al-Hazzaa described women in the Shoura as ‘moving fast,’ while elaborating that the majority of the women are very active in the council. “When observing their contributions to the discussions in the various panels in the council, one might not believe that women constitute only 30% of the Shoura members,” she said.



Speaking with confidence she said: ‘In time we will surpass men. We love challenges and searching for solutions, and so far four ladies have been chosen as deputies.’ She anticipates that at least one female member will head a committee in the third term.



Any comparison between Shoura female and male members in terms of being active should be drawn only between new members of the two sections, believes Al-Hazzaa. She stated there are some men who have four to eight years experience while there are 50 men who joined the council during the same period as the women and those members are the ones who should be compared to women.



The participation, she said, should not be looked at in terms of gender, for being active in the council, by both (men and women), depends on the character of the person. While some are eager to express views others are not keen to speak.



Women still lack connections and lobbies which men are good at explained Al-Hazzaa. She further added that women secretaries are new and lack experience compared to men secretaries, for secretaries make or break you!

She also took issue with the social media and the media. “They are not depicting accurately what is happening in the council,” she said. Another women member of the council believes that gender does not make a difference in performance, for women members in the council have the same rights and responsibilities as their male counterparts.

Dr. Hannan Al-Ahmadi, a Shoura member and also a council-associate professor of health administration, said: “Since we started two years ago women have managed to tackle many critical issues and were able to influence many decisions. Health care, education, judicial system, housing, environment, Islamic issues related to fatwa (edicts), especially those pertaining to women and women empowerment, where we argued for women empowerment, social and economic aspects.”



Women in Shoura, she noted, receive great support from their colleagues and were able to have enough votes to be deputy chairman in several committees, and hopefully ‘the panels will see some women as chair soon.’



Lately, women have become active members of Parliamentary Friendship Committee, which requires them to be part of the Shoura delegations visiting various countries and establishing communication with their counterparts all over the world, said Al-Ahmadi. She said: “Our mission is not easy, however we are empowered by the support of our beloved King Abdullah, who has always believed in women rights and abilities. King Abdullah was able in a very short time to create a place for Saudi women in leadership and legislative positions despite opposition.”



Dr. Al-Jawhara Bubshait, another member, moved from being a consultant at the Shoura to becoming one of the first women who entered the Shoura to obtain all rights including addressing reports and voting. She said: “During the recent past, female members in the Shoura have achieved a lot in terms of contributing to the development of the society. They have been successful in solving women issues in courts, calling for the use of national identity, achieving equality with men in getting real estate loans, fixing working hours in the private sector, adopting anti-sexual and abuse system among addressing other issues that are of interest to the society has a whole.”



In terms of the challenges we are facing they basically need to enhance the presence of women in the council and the role they play in adopting social issues. Bubshait added, “In the Shoura we defend women issues in relation to education, employment, health.”



Among the challenges they face is the ability to being active in discussing all developmental issues related to all segments of society, Bubshait said. In her own words: “The main challenge is the ability to be effective in the council, as well as working effectively in setting regulations and legislations, so for them to be deserving the trust of the king who appointed them.”



Dr. Naila Attar, a social activist, said that the presence of women in Shoura is a step that should have been taken a long time ago.

The evaluation for women in Shoura should be presented based on the role they played to serve the society as a whole including, men and children and not to restrict their calls to women issues, said Attar.



“They are there to represent the society and not only women. talking about women issues only is a losing case! Just to take an example, violence affects not only women but also children and families in general.”



Women in the Shoura are faced with another challenge, which is the objection from other members on some of their programs or suggestions they provide, she added. She demanded giving women in the Shoura more freedom and rights to express their views and to work professionally. I assume that by this time women in the Shoura have gained number of skills that will enable them to implement what they have learned, know the red lines, and benefit from the platform to express their views.



Attar believes that women should next walk the path that will lead them to becoming ministers. This she said will start by appointing them in top positions in ministries including being deputy ministers and top consultants. The regulations do not ban women from having such positions, what is left though is the initiatives from individual ministries Manal Al-Sharif a Saudi journalist said she is optimistic with the induction of women in Shoura. She added: I do not follow the trend of people who question what have women done in the Shoura to serve the society. 



Al-Sharif believes that being able to get these seats in the Shoura is itself an achievement, adding these are qualified women.



She said: I do not expect them to do anything yet! This is a calm, silent and observing stage. However, starting next year, I believe number of suspended issues will be resolved.



These issues, she said, include: personal status law, sexual abuse bylaw, and specifying a quota for women participation in the municipal elections.

Among the main suggestions that women have raised in the Shoura Council are: the national health scientific research system, providing equal loans for men and women from the real estate fund, allowing sport in girls schools, women driving issue among others. However, there have not yet been a final say in both the sexual harassment bylaws and the personal status laws.