Women Get Down to Business at Shoura

Riyadh: Thirty women Shoura members took part in the discussions of the Saudi consultative body for the first time last month. “It was a historic day for Saudi women,” said one member. The meeting appointed three women as deputy chairpersons of subsidiary panels. “Shoura is an integrated system and its discussions are free and fair,” said Zainab Abu Taleb, who has been named deputy chairperson of the Cultural and Media Committee. Six women members have been appointed to the Social, Family and Youth Committee. There are two women in the Management and Human Resource Committee. Lubna Al-Ansari is deputy chairperson of the Health and Environment Affairs Committee while Thuraya Obaid is deputy chairperson of the Human Rights Committee.