(psst! just don't tell our good Saudi allies...)

Saudi Women Can't Vote, Run in Elections

37 minutes ago

By DONNA ABU-NASR, Associated Press Writer

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Women may neither vote nor run in Saudi Arabia's
first nationwide elections, the government announced Monday, dashing hopes
of progressive Saudis and easing fears among conservatives that the kingdom
is moving too fast on reforms.

Some women considered the move yet another indignity in a country where they
need their husbands' permission to study, travel or work. But others said
they wouldn't trust themselves to judge whether a candidate is more than
just a handsome face.


The religious establishment had been lobbying against women's participation
in the elections, diplomats said.


But an electoral official cited administrative and logistical reasons Monday
for the decision to ban women from the municipal elections, scheduled to be
held in three stages from Feb. 10 to April 21.


The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there are not enough
women to run women's-only registration centers and polling stations, and
that only a fraction of the country's women have the photo identity cards
that would have been needed to vote.


Many women in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, have balked at getting
the ID cards - introduced three years ago - because the photographs would
show their faces unveiled.


Saudi women have limited freedoms. Without written permission from a male
guardian, they may not travel, get an education or work. Regardless of
permissions, they are not allowed to drive, mix with men in public or leave
home without covering themselves with black cloaks, called abayas.


The decision was first announced by Interior Minister Prince Nayef in an
interview published Monday. In his terse comment to a Kuwaiti newspaper,
Nayef said only: "I don't think that women's participation is possible."


His remark was the first by a named top official on the issue. It settled a
question that had been occupying Saudis since the government set the date
for the elections in August. When the election law was published, it did not
explicitly bar women from voting, which encouraged three women to declare
themselves candidates.


"I am surprised," said Nadia Bakhurji, 37, the first woman to announce she
planned to run. "I was optimistic and didn't think they would ban it."


Bakhurji said she hoped Nayef and the elections committee would "rethink
their decision" and show transparency by saying why women have been banned.


She said that would give women the chance to "work hand-in-hand with them to
solve these problems in time for elections," said Bakhurji, an architect and
a mother of two.


"My concern is if they don't bring us on board now, we will be fighting for
something that should be a given right," she said.


Not all Saudi women agreed. Taking a break from shopping at the food court
of a Riyadh mall, Nour Ahmed and her five female friends split evenly on the
issue.


"Women are capable of voting and making the right choices," said Ahmed, a
22-year-old marketing graduate. "Why aren't men and women equal in this
issue?"


"We aren't," countered her friend Sarah Muhammad. "We have so little
interaction with men that we will vote with our emotions, choosing
candidates for their looks and sweet talk rather than for what they can
deliver."


Rima Khaled, 20, said Saudi women are not used to playing a role in public
life, and many social and traditional restraints should first be removed
before they can.


"What's the point of voting?" she asked. "Even if we did vote, we would go
home to the men in our lives who will have the last say in whatever we do."

Saudi Arabia's only electoral experiences were some municipal polls held in
a few cities in the 1960s. They did not cover the whole country, and their
electoral rules and registration procedures did not conform to international
standards. Women did not vote.

Registration for the new elections begins in November. Voting will start
Feb. 10 around the capital, Riyadh. Voting in the eastern and southwestern
regions will follow, starting March 3. Voters in northern parts of the
country will go to the polls April 21.

The elections are part of the government's measured response to calls for
political and social change. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy with an
unelected Consultative Council, which acts like a parliament. Political
parties are banned and press freedoms are limited.

The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States spurred calls for the Saudi
royal family to modernize the country's political landscape. Fifteen of the
19 hijackers involved in Sept. 11 were Saudis.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...women_s_rights

Another identify for the group's biggest spammer ?

yojimbo
monsieur sandman
makihara
norman s. smiley
supernovii
son of mustang ford
pixonik
t-model ford
mental case
zerbo

and now

bubb ho-tep


time to email golden.net again


On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 16:57:55 -0400, "bubba ho-tep"
wrote:

(psst! just don't tell our good Saudi allies...)

Saudi Women Can't Vote, Run in Elections

37 minutes ago

By DONNA ABU-NASR, Associated Press Writer

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Women may neither vote nor run in Saudi Arabia's
first nationwide elections, the government announced Monday, dashing hopes
of progressive Saudis and easing fears among conservatives that the kingdom
is moving too fast on reforms.

Some women considered the move yet another indignity in a country where they
need their husbands' permission to study, travel or work. But others said
they wouldn't trust themselves to judge whether a candidate is more than
just a handsome face.


The religious establishment had been lobbying against women's participation
in the elections, diplomats said.


But an electoral official cited administrative and logistical reasons Monday
for the decision to ban women from the municipal elections, scheduled to be
held in three stages from Feb. 10 to April 21.


The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there are not enough
women to run women's-only registration centers and polling stations, and
that only a fraction of the country's women have the photo identity cards
that would have been needed to vote.


Many women in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, have balked at getting
the ID cards - introduced three years ago - because the photographs would
show their faces unveiled.


Saudi women have limited freedoms. Without written permission from a male
guardian, they may not travel, get an education or work. Regardless of
permissions, they are not allowed to drive, mix with men in public or leave
home without covering themselves with black cloaks, called abayas.


The decision was first announced by Interior Minister Prince Nayef in an
interview published Monday. In his terse comment to a Kuwaiti newspaper,
Nayef said only: "I don't think that women's participation is possible."


His remark was the first by a named top official on the issue. It settled a
question that had been occupying Saudis since the government set the date
for the elections in August. When the election law was published, it did not
explicitly bar women from voting, which encouraged three women to declare
themselves candidates.


"I am surprised," said Nadia Bakhurji, 37, the first woman to announce she
planned to run. "I was optimistic and didn't think they would ban it."


Bakhurji said she hoped Nayef and the elections committee would "rethink
their decision" and show transparency by saying why women have been banned.


She said that would give women the chance to "work hand-in-hand with them to
solve these problems in time for elections," said Bakhurji, an architect and
a mother of two.


"My concern is if they don't bring us on board now, we will be fighting for
something that should be a given right," she said.


Not all Saudi women agreed. Taking a break from shopping at the food court
of a Riyadh mall, Nour Ahmed and her five female friends split evenly on the
issue.


"Women are capable of voting and making the right choices," said Ahmed, a
22-year-old marketing graduate. "Why aren't men and women equal in this
issue?"


"We aren't," countered her friend Sarah Muhammad. "We have so little
interaction with men that we will vote with our emotions, choosing
candidates for their looks and sweet talk rather than for what they can
deliver."


Rima Khaled, 20, said Saudi women are not used to playing a role in public
life, and many social and traditional restraints should first be removed
before they can.


"What's the point of voting?" she asked. "Even if we did vote, we would go
home to the men in our lives who will have the last say in whatever we do."

Saudi Arabia's only electoral experiences were some municipal polls held in
a few cities in the 1960s. They did not cover the whole country, and their
electoral rules and registration procedures did not conform to international
standards. Women did not vote.

Registration for the new elections begins in November. Voting will start
Feb. 10 around the capital, Riyadh. Voting in the eastern and southwestern
regions will follow, starting March 3. Voters in northern parts of the
country will go to the polls April 21.

The elections are part of the government's measured response to calls for
political and social change. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy with an
unelected Consultative Council, which acts like a parliament. Political
parties are banned and press freedoms are limited.

The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States spurred calls for the Saudi
royal family to modernize the country's political landscape. Fifteen of the
19 hijackers involved in Sept. 11 were Saudis.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...women_s_rights

Another IDENTITY...

Keep in mind it's past 1 am here !

On Tue, 12 Oct 2004 08:00:28 GMT, JuLiE Dxer
wrote:

Another identify for the group's biggest spammer ?

yojimbo
monsieur sandman
makihara
norman s. smiley
supernovii
son of mustang ford
pixonik
t-model ford
mental case
zerbo

and now

bubb ho-tep


time to email golden.net again


On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 16:57:55 -0400, "bubba ho-tep"
wrote:

(psst! just don't tell our good Saudi allies...)

Saudi Women Can't Vote, Run in Elections

37 minutes ago

By DONNA ABU-NASR, Associated Press Writer

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Women may neither vote nor run in Saudi Arabia's
first nationwide elections, the government announced Monday, dashing hopes
of progressive Saudis and easing fears among conservatives that the kingdom
is moving too fast on reforms.

Some women considered the move yet another indignity in a country where they
need their husbands' permission to study, travel or work. But others said
they wouldn't trust themselves to judge whether a candidate is more than
just a handsome face.


The religious establishment had been lobbying against women's participation
in the elections, diplomats said.


But an electoral official cited administrative and logistical reasons Monday
for the decision to ban women from the municipal elections, scheduled to be
held in three stages from Feb. 10 to April 21.


The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there are not enough
women to run women's-only registration centers and polling stations, and
that only a fraction of the country's women have the photo identity cards
that would have been needed to vote.


Many women in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, have balked at getting
the ID cards - introduced three years ago - because the photographs would
show their faces unveiled.


Saudi women have limited freedoms. Without written permission from a male
guardian, they may not travel, get an education or work. Regardless of
permissions, they are not allowed to drive, mix with men in public or leave
home without covering themselves with black cloaks, called abayas.


The decision was first announced by Interior Minister Prince Nayef in an
interview published Monday. In his terse comment to a Kuwaiti newspaper,
Nayef said only: "I don't think that women's participation is possible."


His remark was the first by a named top official on the issue. It settled a
question that had been occupying Saudis since the government set the date
for the elections in August. When the election law was published, it did not
explicitly bar women from voting, which encouraged three women to declare
themselves candidates.


"I am surprised," said Nadia Bakhurji, 37, the first woman to announce she
planned to run. "I was optimistic and didn't think they would ban it."


Bakhurji said she hoped Nayef and the elections committee would "rethink
their decision" and show transparency by saying why women have been banned.


She said that would give women the chance to "work hand-in-hand with them to
solve these problems in time for elections," said Bakhurji, an architect and
a mother of two.


"My concern is if they don't bring us on board now, we will be fighting for
something that should be a given right," she said.


Not all Saudi women agreed. Taking a break from shopping at the food court
of a Riyadh mall, Nour Ahmed and her five female friends split evenly on the
issue.


"Women are capable of voting and making the right choices," said Ahmed, a
22-year-old marketing graduate. "Why aren't men and women equal in this
issue?"


"We aren't," countered her friend Sarah Muhammad. "We have so little
interaction with men that we will vote with our emotions, choosing
candidates for their looks and sweet talk rather than for what they can
deliver."


Rima Khaled, 20, said Saudi women are not used to playing a role in public
life, and many social and traditional restraints should first be removed
before they can.


"What's the point of voting?" she asked. "Even if we did vote, we would go
home to the men in our lives who will have the last say in whatever we do."

Saudi Arabia's only electoral experiences were some municipal polls held in
a few cities in the 1960s. They did not cover the whole country, and their
electoral rules and registration procedures did not conform to international
standards. Women did not vote.

Registration for the new elections begins in November. Voting will start
Feb. 10 around the capital, Riyadh. Voting in the eastern and southwestern
regions will follow, starting March 3. Voters in northern parts of the
country will go to the polls April 21.

The elections are part of the government's measured response to calls for
political and social change. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy with an
unelected Consultative Council, which acts like a parliament. Political
parties are banned and press freedoms are limited.

The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States spurred calls for the Saudi
royal family to modernize the country's political landscape. Fifteen of the
19 hijackers involved in Sept. 11 were Saudis.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...women_s_rights

we will vote with our emotions, choosing
candidates for their looks and sweet talk rather than for what they can
deliver."

And this would differ from Soccer-moms in what ways?

Jack