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© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Saudi women vote for the first time
By AYA BATRAWY RIYADH, Saudi Arabia©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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CrazyJoe
A fascist hell on earth. Women are treated as property, gays are flogged, people have their limbs cut off as punishment for minor crimes and no religion is allowed except the most cruel and extreme form of Islam. It's the most barbarous anti-democratic hell-hole you could possibly imagine.
PTownsend
It's easy to criticise and be sceptical about anything Saudi does, but I see this as a positive. People have said that the Islamic world needs a reformation or enlightenment or something equivalent to what western Europe experienced to move out of the dark ages, and this could be a part of a start. Major movements take time to develop.
The problem isn't any particular ideology, instead it's ideological extremists. Many of the world's problems today stem from extremists and their radical beliefs; the 'kingdom's conservatives' (extremists) are directly and indirectly responsible for many problems we've seen in the last twenty or so years. All religious and cultural extremists need to be marginalised.
And the world needs to stop burning so much petroleum so that the demand decreases and the oil barons lose money and power. So to speak.
nath
That's the truth. Just look at what the Tea Party has done to America, and what Trump is trying to do to it.
SenseNotSoCommon
Still a case of Turkeys voting for Christmas (in this case, White Daesh).
Time to unite against Wahhabism, not only its toxic effects.
Bgood41
The hard reality is "Islam has Islam problems" (e.g. Islamic view of the Infidels , Islam Vs. Democracy, Sunni Vs. Shiite...etc) , and "the world has Islam problem". SOLUTION IS THE REFORMATION OF ISLAM, as many religions have gone through. Women vote in Saudi Arabia is a baby step of this process. Please hold down your horses since the actual reformation of Islam is far...over due, and yet need to be implemented by so called "moderate Muslims" who must stand up against the extremists with Koran on their hands. Otherwise, the saga of terrorism will continue... "REFORMATION"
HonestDictator
Jeebus.... it's about time, although its DECADES later than many other countries. Hopefully women will get to vote in everything not just select areas. I believe if women had more power in Islamic countries, we wouldn't be seeing so much of nastiness.
nath
All Islamic countries are not the same. Some of them have had Female leaders. Has your country?
idir13013
Any real step towards progress would have been to allow women to actually do something improving their everyday life. Among others: driving their own car, entering universities and educate themselves without the need of a man to approve, travel freely, etc...
That sentence says it all: "While the municipal councils do not have legislative powers, they oversee a range of community issues, such as budgets for maintaining and improving public facilities. All major decision-making powers rest solely in the hands of King Salman and the all-male Cabinet of ministers."
So even if only women showed up to vote, and only women were elected, it would not change ANYTHING. That says it all about the current "major step" we are witnessing.
Jimizo
"Abdullah Al-Maiteb summed it up as he made his way into a polling station in Riyadh. “Her role is not in such places. Her role is at home managing the house and raising a new generation,” he said. “If we allow her out of the house to do such business, who is going to take care of my sons?"
"If we allow her out of the house". Stunning.
lucabrasi
Reminds me of Ali G:
" But if we gives the womens rights in the workplace, won't they be wanting them at home?"