Saudi women hold protests, try to vote

[ellenrr]

Source: press tv

A group of Saudi Arabian women have reportedly attempted to register for the kingdom's upcoming municipal elections, despite Riyadh's prohibition on female participation in the event. Scheduled for September 22, the polls form the kingdom's only public electoral event. The protesters said they wanted their voices to be heard and decried exclusion from the public life.

The women's applications, however, where swiftly turned down. Police dispersed a similar protest in the Eastern Province and rounded up two women. Saudi women are deprived of a choice in marriage, divorce and children's custody. They are also not allowed to drive. The females are dictated to and guarded by male relatives and cannot travel without the consent of a male guardian.

The Sunday protest came amid demonstrations across the kingdom by the jobless, demanding their share of the country's oil-driven economy and protests against Saudi Arabia's move to deploy troops in Bahrain to crack down on anti-government protesters there.

The protests rage despite a ban by the Interior Ministry on all kinds of demonstrations and public gatherings.



Read more: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/176474.html

[onehandle]

1. Ladies and gentlemen, our 'ally.' nt

[ck4829]

2. Our "BFF". K&R.

[canuckledragger]

3. that's "Bush's BFF"

FTFY

[FLPanhandle]

4. Good to see them starting to stand up for themselves

It's going to be a tough fight against the religious extremists, but it's one they are going to have to engage in if they want change.

[baldguy]

5. America went through this 100 yrs ago.

http://www.tchevalier.com/fallingangels/bckgrnd/suffrage/

[UndertheOcean]

6. Were those American women ever in fear of being killed ?

Did they have to cover their bodies in tents ?

Did they need the consent of Males to travel ?

Apples and fucking "Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster".

I know moral relativism and cultural apologetics are the rage with us bleeding heart leftists .... but you cannot compare the HELLHOLE that is Saudi Arabia to anything.

[hayu_lol]

7. Women in America were similarly treated back when they were...

attempting to get the vote. They were treated with contempt by much of male society, they had no legal rights, any wealth or property they brought to marriage went immediately into the husband's name and he had total control.

Women declared insane by their husbands could be institutionalized by court order--didn't matter if they were sane or not.

Married women usually did not travel without their husbands...and that meant getting permission.

These protesting women in Saudi are really putting their lives on the line...but American women did the same.

Some people need to do some serious reading about the condition of women here at home...just one hundred years ago.

[SkyDaddy7]

8. I agree! Women may have had it bad in...

America but Saudi women are NOTHING BUT MALE BABY FACTORIES! They literally are property & nothing anyone can say changes this FACT!

I am not taking anything away from American women they had to fight like hell for equal footing to which that is still an ongoing fight...But Saudi are literally Centuries behind! SAD!

Everything that goes wrong is the Saudi woman's fault...Men bare no responsibility at all!

[ZombieHorde]

9. Those women are really really brave. I wish them success and peace. nt

[MasonJar]

10. The Saudis may have gotten rich when they discovered oil about

70 or so years ago, but they are still the same bunch of wandering nomads with no foot in the modern world.

[houstonintc]

11. Challenging argument for those women to make..

Not sure as to the intricacies of Saudi Arabian society but is it largely individualistic or collectivistic?

One of the major problems in exporting womans rights is that sometimes the culture does not a defined idea of individual rights.

Do Saudi's have rights or responsibilities?