Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH – The time is not ripe for municipal councils to employ women, a city council official here said.
Hassan Al-Zahrani, vice chairman of the municipal council here said that the councils are still in their inception stage and need time before involving females in their work.
Overly hasty moves to open the door to women’s participation could have negative consequences, he said.
The issue of men and women sharing responsibilities is not up for debate, Al-Zahrani said, as each one has their responsibilities specified in Shariah Law.
He said women were taking part in extensive areas of society that are suited to their nature, citing social issues and district centers and other societies.
More women working in those areas would have a positive effect on the structure and cohesion of society, Al-Zahrani added. – Okaz/SG
Showing posts with label local government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label local government. Show all posts
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia mulls allowing women to vote
Reuters
RIYADH, April 26 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is considering allowing women to vote in municipal elections this year but they would still be barred from running for office, a senior government official was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest oil exporter and a key ally of the United States. The absolute monarchy applies an austere form of Sunni Islam which bans unrelated men and women from mixing.
Prince Mansour bin Muteb, deputy minister for municipal and rural affairs, made the comments after attending a conference of municipal councils in the Eastern Province, Saudi newspapers reported.
The meeting's recommendations included one that women should be eligible to vote, the liberal-leaning daily al-Watan said.
Officials at the municipal and rural affairs ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.
Only eligible males voted in municipal elections in 2005 which were the desert kingdom's first ever nationwide polls since the state's inception in 1932.
The election for half the seats on the councils was part of a series of reforms undertaken after the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001 focused international attention on Saudi Arabia's political and religious culture. Most of the attackers were Saudi, acting in the name of the Islamist group al Qaeda.
The meeting in the Eastern Province, the first indication that the municipal vote will take place this year, recommended that the government continues to name half the members of the council, al-Watan said. (Reporting by Souhail Karam)
RIYADH, April 26 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is considering allowing women to vote in municipal elections this year but they would still be barred from running for office, a senior government official was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest oil exporter and a key ally of the United States. The absolute monarchy applies an austere form of Sunni Islam which bans unrelated men and women from mixing.
Prince Mansour bin Muteb, deputy minister for municipal and rural affairs, made the comments after attending a conference of municipal councils in the Eastern Province, Saudi newspapers reported.
The meeting's recommendations included one that women should be eligible to vote, the liberal-leaning daily al-Watan said.
Officials at the municipal and rural affairs ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.
Only eligible males voted in municipal elections in 2005 which were the desert kingdom's first ever nationwide polls since the state's inception in 1932.
The election for half the seats on the councils was part of a series of reforms undertaken after the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001 focused international attention on Saudi Arabia's political and religious culture. Most of the attackers were Saudi, acting in the name of the Islamist group al Qaeda.
The meeting in the Eastern Province, the first indication that the municipal vote will take place this year, recommended that the government continues to name half the members of the council, al-Watan said. (Reporting by Souhail Karam)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Jordan: Six women win seats in engineers association division councils
AMMAN - The Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) has announced the results of elections for its division councils, with six women out of nine who competed for the posts winning seats.
The polls were held on Wednesday and Friday last week, in the JEA’s Amman, Irbid, Karak, Zarqa and Aqaba branches, where 113 members competed for seats in the six seven-member division councils, according to an official JEA statement sent to The Jordan Times on Monday.
The divisions include architectural, mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical and mining engineers, JEA Vice President Abdullah Obeidat said, stressing that the polls went smoothly.
He noted that a total of 184 division members competed for 77 spots in the 500-member JEA general assembly, the association’s highest authority which approves policies and finances.
Council members will be eligible to compete for seats in the JEA council, according to the association's bylaws.
The JEA, the largest association in the Kingdom with more than 70,000 members, heads into elections, slated for early April, against the backdrop of the recent Israeli offensive in Gaza and difficult economic conditions, which are expected to dominate campaigns.
Campaigning has already become heated and the association’s Islamist-led leadership recently threatened to take rivals from the leftist camp to court for “slander”.
Both pro-Islamists and their leftist rivals have traded accusations in the media in recent weeks over internal issues and financial policies.
Similar elections are expected to take place in the coming few months for some 12 other professional associations.
-- The Jordan Times, By Mohammad Ben Hussein
The polls were held on Wednesday and Friday last week, in the JEA’s Amman, Irbid, Karak, Zarqa and Aqaba branches, where 113 members competed for seats in the six seven-member division councils, according to an official JEA statement sent to The Jordan Times on Monday.
The divisions include architectural, mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical and mining engineers, JEA Vice President Abdullah Obeidat said, stressing that the polls went smoothly.
He noted that a total of 184 division members competed for 77 spots in the 500-member JEA general assembly, the association’s highest authority which approves policies and finances.
Council members will be eligible to compete for seats in the JEA council, according to the association's bylaws.
The JEA, the largest association in the Kingdom with more than 70,000 members, heads into elections, slated for early April, against the backdrop of the recent Israeli offensive in Gaza and difficult economic conditions, which are expected to dominate campaigns.
Campaigning has already become heated and the association’s Islamist-led leadership recently threatened to take rivals from the leftist camp to court for “slander”.
Both pro-Islamists and their leftist rivals have traded accusations in the media in recent weeks over internal issues and financial policies.
Similar elections are expected to take place in the coming few months for some 12 other professional associations.
-- The Jordan Times, By Mohammad Ben Hussein
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Judicial Reforms take a Big Stride
RIYADH - Judicial reforms picked up pace with a decision to convert branches of the Board of Grievances across the country into administrative courts, SPA reported. The decision to make the change was made by the Administrative Affairs Committee at the Board of Grievances, chaired by Sheikh Muhammed Abdullah Bin Muhammed Al-Ameen.
Accordingly, administrative courts will be based in Riyadh Region, Makkah Region, the Eastern Province, Madina Region, Asir Region and in Jouf, Qassim, Tabuk, Hail, the Northern Frontier, Jizan, Najran, and Baha.
Al-Ameen directed the Board of Grievances to provide premises for the administrative courts, create judiciary and administrative posts and make financial allocations before the courts start functioning.
In line with the new Judiciary System, the Administrative Affairs Committee will perform the tasks of the Judiciary Administrative Council until such time the Council is formed.
Muhammed Bin Abdul Kareem Al-Isa, deputy chairman of the Board of Grievances, said he was optimistic with the developments.
"The Board of Grievances organized a series of workshops in the past two months which preceded the endorsement of the two systems aimed at enforcing the decision as per the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz," Al-Isa said.
Al-Isa said the Board is focused on training of judiciary staff and making big strides towards establishing an e-court to provide judiciary services electronically, which will speed up litigation procedures.
As per the Royal Decree, the administrative court system will have a High Administrative Court, an Administrative Appeal Courts and Administrative Courts.
An Administrative Appeal Court will have a Chairman and judges with the rank of a Judge of Appeal. An Administrative Court will have a Chairman and judges. The Judiciary Administrative Council is empowered to establish other specialized courts at the King's consent. Al-Isa said these courts would function through specialized circuits as follows:
Higher Administrative Court circuit formed of three judges.
Administrative Appeal Courts circuits formed of three judges.
Administrative Courts circuits formed of three judges or one judge.
The Judiciary Administrative Council will form the Administrative Courts circuits in accordance with the suggestions of the courts' chairmen.
About the mechanism to separate the commercial and punitive courts from the Board of Grievances and their affiliation to the Ministry of Justice, Al-Isa said the Experts Commission is studying the separation mechanism following the Board's recommendation to the higher authorities. A deadline will be fixed for the separation including a precise mechanism defining the staff's jobs.
- Saudi Gazette report
Accordingly, administrative courts will be based in Riyadh Region, Makkah Region, the Eastern Province, Madina Region, Asir Region and in Jouf, Qassim, Tabuk, Hail, the Northern Frontier, Jizan, Najran, and Baha.
Al-Ameen directed the Board of Grievances to provide premises for the administrative courts, create judiciary and administrative posts and make financial allocations before the courts start functioning.
In line with the new Judiciary System, the Administrative Affairs Committee will perform the tasks of the Judiciary Administrative Council until such time the Council is formed.
Muhammed Bin Abdul Kareem Al-Isa, deputy chairman of the Board of Grievances, said he was optimistic with the developments.
"The Board of Grievances organized a series of workshops in the past two months which preceded the endorsement of the two systems aimed at enforcing the decision as per the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz," Al-Isa said.
Al-Isa said the Board is focused on training of judiciary staff and making big strides towards establishing an e-court to provide judiciary services electronically, which will speed up litigation procedures.
As per the Royal Decree, the administrative court system will have a High Administrative Court, an Administrative Appeal Courts and Administrative Courts.
An Administrative Appeal Court will have a Chairman and judges with the rank of a Judge of Appeal. An Administrative Court will have a Chairman and judges. The Judiciary Administrative Council is empowered to establish other specialized courts at the King's consent. Al-Isa said these courts would function through specialized circuits as follows:
Higher Administrative Court circuit formed of three judges.
Administrative Appeal Courts circuits formed of three judges.
Administrative Courts circuits formed of three judges or one judge.
The Judiciary Administrative Council will form the Administrative Courts circuits in accordance with the suggestions of the courts' chairmen.
About the mechanism to separate the commercial and punitive courts from the Board of Grievances and their affiliation to the Ministry of Justice, Al-Isa said the Experts Commission is studying the separation mechanism following the Board's recommendation to the higher authorities. A deadline will be fixed for the separation including a precise mechanism defining the staff's jobs.
- Saudi Gazette report
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Role of Saudi Women Increases in Government
JEDDAH — As women’s participation in the Kingdom’s national development increases, special women’s sections with all female staff have opened in several government offices. Several municipality offices in the Kingdom have also opened sections exclusively for women so that they will get more involved in both administrative and field activities of local governments.
And of course permitting women to work in areas which were formerly the exclusive domains of men is a bold move in Saudi society.
Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, director of media relations in the mayor’s office told Arab News yesterday that the Jeddah Mayor’s office had recruited 16 women computer operators and information technologists. They began working on the first working day of the new Hijri year which was Jan. 12. "Our office plans to increase women’s participation to other branches including the field inspection of commercial establishments," Al-Ghamdi said.
Women have also been employed in the administrative department of the office.
- Arab News
And of course permitting women to work in areas which were formerly the exclusive domains of men is a bold move in Saudi society.
Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, director of media relations in the mayor’s office told Arab News yesterday that the Jeddah Mayor’s office had recruited 16 women computer operators and information technologists. They began working on the first working day of the new Hijri year which was Jan. 12. "Our office plans to increase women’s participation to other branches including the field inspection of commercial establishments," Al-Ghamdi said.
Women have also been employed in the administrative department of the office.
- Arab News
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