A Royal Snub? King Abdullah and Queen Rania Not On Expected Guest List for Britain’s Royal Wedding

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons

If a list of the world’s recognized and beloved Monarchs/Princesses were put together it would likely read:

1. Queen Elizabeth, 2. (now) Princess Kate 3. Queen Rania.

While her husband might not possess the same magnetism and charisma, King Abdullah is a pretty well appreciated royal figure and leader in his own right. After all, he has only successfully further developed the Hashemite Kingdom Jordan into a peaceful and Western friendly country wedged between Israel/Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Egypt. Yet according to officialroyalwedding2011.org no dignitaries or representatives from the Kingdom of Jordan were included. Why then, didn’t their names appear on the official guest list for Friday’s upcoming Royal Wedding?

Surely, if the King of Tonga was invited (no disrespect to his majesty of the South Pacific Island), then King Abdullah and Queen Rania must have been extended an invitation right? After all, Jordan was an official British Protectorate until May 1946 and has maintained very close relations with the US and Great Britain. In fact King Abdullah spent a year in school in London and since ascending the throne has made several visits to London including a high profile visit last summer for bilateral talks on how to move forward with the idea of Palestinian statehood.

So why is it that when seemingly every other Monarch with even the most distant of ties to Britain’s once dominant world empire was invited, the Jordanian royal family was  not? Were they indeed snubbed?

The answer remains a enigma that few are willing to shed light on. Earlier in the day, Hannah, a member of Buckingham Palace’s press office politely refused comment saying that that Buckingham Palace left it up to individuals to answer questions regarding the wedding. A call left for the Jordan Times – Jordan’s main English language Newspaper – was not returned and several twitters to her Majesty’s official twitter account was left unanswered as well. From talking with friends in Jordan there is a sense of disappointment and even indignity. After all King Abdullah was rated the 4th most influential Muslim in the world by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center (Not to diminish the findings, but the center is based in Jordan)

What are the possible explanations then? Here are the four most likely:

1. For whatever reason, King  Abdullah and Queen Rania were indeed snubbed by Buckingham Palace. Given Britain and Jordan’s close official ties, a cold-shoulder would have to come from the British Monarchy and not the Government. This however seems highly unlikely as there is no news (not even rumors) to suggest the two Monarchies are suffering from frosty feelings.

2. The official website clearly states, “The following are all confirmed attendees at the Royal Wedding as of 23rd April 2011,” making it a possibility that King Abdullah and Queen Rania have yet to respond. Again though, this explanation is also unlikely given such a late reply would come across as rude.

3. Another possible rationale could be that Abdullah and Rania do not want to attract attention and have asked that their names be withheld to avoid the fanfare. While far more plausible such a move wouldn’t fit with the family’s style and previous record of attending events.

4. Finally, the final possibility is that with unrest all around Jordan and riots and protests breaking out inside its own borders, King Abdullah may have decided it wise to let Buckingham Palace know from the beginning that he was not interested in coming to avoid being perceived as someone tied to and more concerned with the pomp and circumstance than the difficulty economic issues facing his country. This seems to make the most sense, and although slightly damaging the honor of many proud Jordanians who seem genuinely upset that Jordan has been “snubbed,” declining the invitation could help alleviate the criticism that the King and especially Rania have come under for living an elite jet-setting life style. Nevertheless, the fact that his name never appeared on the original guest list released back in February puts holes in this theory as well.

Whatever the reason, the mystery grows. Some blogs and websites claim the Jordanian Royal family is confirmed to attend while others make it a point to highlight their absence. Whether they do end up attending  remains to be seen, however the strange silence and lack of information continues to raise questions as to why the plans of one of the world’s most glamorous royal couples are not better known

http://themideaster.com/

What Did You Do for the Royal Wedding?

By R_Ferrier

Corsham celebrated the Royal Wedding with various businesses putting up Union Jack flags, holding parties and stringing up bunting across their doorways or over their porches. Hopefully you are fully recovered from all the excitement of yesterday, so tell us what you did for the Royal Wedding.

1.  
   Pick some local goodies to help you remember the Royal Wedding. How did you spend the day?

Along the High Street and surrounding businesses were flags bearing the image of Prince William and Kate Middletown, now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Were you watching the wedding on the television or did you travel down to London to catch a glimpse of all the excitement. Let us know! 

Got any Royal Wedding party pictures? Add them to our Corsham People galleryand help share the fun which the Royal Wedding brought to the country and our local Corsham community. 

There’s still time to get those Royal Wedding goodies in Whitehall or to purchase a Wills and Kate pie from the Hare and Hounds. 

Automattic Comics also has a Royal Wedding comic book if you are looking for something really different and original to mark the special occasion. 

Did you see the Mummer’s Play at the Harp and Crown Inn at Gastard. The play had a Wills and Kate theme to honour the special occasion. 

Let us know in the comment box below how you spent the day and what you were doing at the historic moment when the Royal Wedding took place. 

Saudi-Jordanian Engineering Forum Started in Ammans

 

Amman - SPA:

    The Saudi-Jordanian Engineering Forum started here today with the aim of discussing means of boosting cooperation, coordination as well as the exchange of expertise between the Jordan Engineers Association and the Saudi Council of Engineers. Jordanian Minister of Public Works and Housing Yahia Kasabi stressed the importance of the role of Jordanian diplomatic missions in cooperating with Arab brethren to achieve more partnerships in the fields of engineering and investment.

Kasabi said the Jordanian government will support cooperation with the Saudi side to create genuine partnerships that would reflect positively on the economic and investment sectors in both countries.

Board Chairman of the Saudi Council of Engineers Abdullah Buqshan stressed the importance of the engineering profession in achieving progress and prosperity for nations through various engineering plans and programs.

Breakup in marriage? Blame it on social networking sites

By RENAD GHANEM | ARAB NEWS

 The famous social network website Facebook played a role in the fall of several regimes, such as in Tunisia and Egypt, or at least caused them troubles, as in Libya, Yemen and Syria. However, Facebook sometimes also contributes to the dissolutions of marriages. Occasionally, husbands use the website for adventures: to make friendships with members of the opposite gender. This doesn’t always remain unnoticed by their wives, who then start spying on them. They refuse to let their husbands add any female friends to their friends’ list.

Some wives discover that their husbands are having a good time making friendships with other women and lie about their social status. This leads to extreme situations, in which they ban their husbands from Facebook. Others make fake accounts and add their husband, so that they can catch them red-handed.

“A wife that allows her husband to have a Facebook account is crazy,” said Fatima Shaker, a housewife. Fatima suffered a lot because of her husband’s adventures with other women on Facebook. She said that she wished to delete his account. He promised her when he first joined the social network to use it the right way, but slowly it got out of control.

She said that her husband started to behave strangely, like spending a long time on Facebook or adding only women on his friends’ list. What was worst in her opinion, was that he mentioned in his status that he was single. “It came to the point that I asked him to delete all the strange girls in his list, but he refused. He tried to convince me that this stayed only on Facebook,” she added.

Saudi King Abdullah cracks down on press freedom

King Abdullah imposes new media restrictions

Reuters/Dylan Martinez

By RFI

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has tightened rules governing the media and threatened large fines and the closure of news organisations which allegedly undermine national security.

A decree issued on Friday states the media will be prevented from reporting anything that contradicts the strict Islamic Sharia law or serves "foreign interests and undermines national security."
Publishers will be required to stick to objective and constructive criticism and any organisation in violation of the new rule faces a maximum fine of 90,000 euros.
In addition, the authorities can also ban a writer for life from contributing to any media organisation.
The media in Saudi Arabi is tightly supervised by the government, and the most prominent newspapers are owned by people who are a part of or closely linked to the ruling Al-Saud dynasty.
The new restrictions coincide with a move by the authorities to quell any uprisings inspired by the recent popular revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and trouble elsewhere in the region.
Over the past week, police arrested 20 to 30 Shiites, including two bloggers, accused of taking part in demonstrations in the oil-rich Eastern Province

Young Asir women make a mark in real estate business

KHAMIS MUSHAYT: A group of young dynamic Saudi women is thrilled at making a vigorous entry to the real estate business — ending the monopoly of men at least in Asir province.

They say that the booming realty sector has opened up  new job opportunities for qualified young women job seekers. These enthusiastic women are heavily involved in this thriving business and in particular dealing with female property buyers. Many women are eager to approach them either to buy or sell properties with the full confidence that the entire deal would be done in a discrete way. These customers are happy that these realty firms protect them from being victims of greedy male agents, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported last month.

The factors — such as the opportunity to do business freely, to take advantage of the real estate boom, to acquire expertise and experience and to earn a profit — are the driving forces behind these young women entering this sector. They are fully willing to stay on in the field and are determined to score success in this thriving sector.

Zeenat Al-Shahri, a real estate agent, sees that the realty sector is playing a vital role in strengthening the contributions of Saudi women in the development of the national economy.

“The volume of investments by Saudi women in the real estate sector has witnessed a steady increase as a result of several incentives being extended by the government. This has prompted us to open real estate offices that help women find the most suitable properties at reasonable prices. We also furnish them with information with regard to ideal ways of investments in the sector, as well as ways to get financing from local banks in addition to offering consultancy services with regard to buying and selling properties,” she said.

Zeenat says that there is tremendous response from women customers.

“Many women contact the office with various requests, such as making investment in real estate businesses and protecting their investments from the reckless spending of their husbands, in addition to protecting privacy of their investments,” she said while noting that there are special cases in which women want to protect themselves, as well as their properties, from the greed and selfish motives of their kith and kin.

arabnews.com

Royal wedding: William and Kate 'moved by affection'

The wedding ceremony will be the epitome of "Britishness", St James's Palace says

Prince William and Kate Middleton say they have been "incredibly moved" by the affection shown to them since they announced their engagement.

In a message in their official wedding programme they thanked "everyone most sincerely for their kindness".
During Friday's Westminster Abbey ceremony Miss Middleton will vow to "love, comfort, honour and keep" Prince William but will not vow to obey him.
The service will be the epitome of "Britishness", St James's Palace said.
VisitBritain has predicted more than 600,000 people will be on the streets to watch Friday's events and several hundred are already camping out in tents and sleeping bags outside the abbey and in The Mall near Buckingham Palace
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13217693

Alternate View: Driven Women Privileged in Saudi

Written by American Bedu
According to this article in Saudi News, Saudi women prefer to be ”driven around like princesses” to having to drive themselves. This however, is a very one-sided view. This view can only be upheld by women who have a personal driver. For all other women the necessity of having to hire drivers, just to be able to do their shopping, or get to their jobs, can take up most of their salary.
It is not fact that all Saudi families can employ drivers. The ban on women driving is a severe restriction on many families. Saudi women cannot do anything like shopping, dropping off the children to school, driving family members to the doctor or hospital, by themselves. Saudi women have to rely on a man to be able to get anywhere. And Saudi men have to drive the women to whatever destination they need to go to after they come home from work.
The main reason which is always stated for the ban on women driving is that women would be raped when out alone in a car, or go out to secret assignations, which would lead to ”fornication”.
Of course in any situation there are always people who like and support the status quo. And this latest article about ”women driving” cherry picks amongst the female supporters of the ban. It is bemusing though, if women are allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, then surely only those women who really want, or need to drive would be driving, wouldn’t they?
It would not actually be enforced? Women who enjoy the sensation of being driven around like a princess could still enjoy the privilege of being dependent on a non-related male driver.
Some of the comments made by women in the article:
”When we want to go to a shopping center or to the hospital, the driver drops us at the main entrance and drives away. We don’t have to care about remembering where we parked our car or parking far away from the door,” said Zaina Al-Salem, a 29-year-old banker. “When I travel to a country where I can drive, I’m usually burdened about the part when I get to park my car and walk all the way to the store.”
Usually, only the rich and famous have their own chauffeur, but in Saudi Arabia almost everyone has one, according to Shahad Ibrahim, a college student.
“I wouldn’t want to give up on that because I feel like a princess where my driver takes me everywhere I want without complaint,” she said.
“We always complain about Saudi men’s driving. What makes women better than them? At least men have been practicing this for a while, and if it happened for women then they would have zero experience,” she said. “Even the streets are not built well for driving. The streets are damaged and bumpy and most women will not be able to handle them. Saudi women don’t need to drive cars, they need to own magic carpets.”
“I had to get my window tinted so those young men would stop following me everywhere I go,” said Hala Bukhary, a 32-year-old school teacher. “To be honest I am frightened of the day where I have to drive my car all alone with all those young men following me.”
I think there’s lots of items here we can discuss. What do you think?

Does it Matter how Women get to Power?

Written by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

It's not how you've got there, it's what you do once you are. Queen Rania in Harlem, NYC

The world will have one more princess when Prince William weds Kate Middleton next year. Young girls dream of growing up to be a princess. Even grown women may secretly aspire to the hallowed status of princess in our societies, a status granted for no other reason than who her father or husband is.
Despite the fact that princesses are often seen in simplistic, caricatured Disneyesque terms, I must confess that I still tingle when I’m called “Princess” by my father or my husband, or even my female friends. It makes me feel special, unique and anointed.
A different part of me, however, is annoyed at the Kate Middletons of the world who marry into power and status and then claim the title of princess, thereby elevating themselves above us mere mortals. What exactly did she do to deserve her revered status?
Women who marry into princess-type roles – whether into royal families or rich, influential ones – are still trumpeted as powerful women. For example, the Forbes list of 100 most powerful women in the world had Michelle Obama at the top. By contrast, Angela Merkel’s husband isn’t cited as wielding power or influence, nor is Prince Philip.
Does it really matter how you get to your position of power and influence, or is it what you do with it that is more important? If you ask that question about men in positions of authority, the general answer is that how they got their power does matter. It tells us something about who they are, their motivations and their modus operandi.
We look down on men who marry into jobs, we expect them to be elected or appointed by merit not connections. And when it comes to experts we want to be sure that advice and consultancy is delivered by those with the greatest knowledge, experience and training, not the husband or son of someone.
We don’t hold women to such standards. Marriage is seen as an acceptable way to assert social authority and status. The woman need not have any of her own intrinsic merit. The upshot of this attitude is that women are judged less on their talents and more on their families and whether they are married or not. A single woman has lower social standing and respect.
Of course, once you are in a position of influence, it’s what you do with it that is important. A notable example from the recent press is Aung San Suu Kyi, who carries her father’s mantle for freedom in Burma, now known as Myanmar. The Middle East has plenty of these female advocates, too, including Queen Rania, Sheikha Mozah and Queen Noor. They are out there making a difference.
For the princesses, queens and first ladies of the world, their power is fleeting and dependent. So let’s not commend their acquisition of it through marriage or by association with their men. What we can and should commend are the activities they proactively engage in to maximise the social good.
Such women who make the most of their positions to help others and make society better – whether they are found on royal family trees or power lists or whether you come across them in local communities, your extended family or your colleagues at work – these are the women who are the real role models of the world, and the ones we should aspire to be.

The Battle to Reform Saudi Education System

Written by Crossroads Arabia
The Financial Times reports on the struggle within Saudi Arabia to reform its education system. While the government is largely forward thinking, its plans meet resistance from conservatives, primarily on religious grounds. While conservatives of any kind are resistant to change (that’s why they’re called ‘conservative’, after all), by making it about religion, they have the ability to derail reform. The battle, in fact, can stand as an exemplar of why religion and government must be separate.
Government relies on making rational decisions. Religion, by definition, is arational, not capable of being fully understood through reason, nor capable of being disproved as irrational. The two values are going to go crosswise often and education reform in the Kingdom is a stellar example of the conflict. Saudi Arabia needs competent people; no one will disagree with that. Competence comes from many sources, but one of the principal sources is education. If the time necessary to teach skills such as mathematics, history, or economics is taken up by other teaching, those studies must suffer.
Religious values are important in life, at least to those who hold them. They are not critical to survival, however, as in its quest for survival ranging over hundreds of thousands of years, religion has been present only over the most recent tens of thousands. Religion may nourish the spirit, but it does not nourish the body. Without bodies, there are no members of religious congregations. Right now, conservatives acting against reform are acting against the survival of Saudi Arabia as a viable nation, filled with living and productive people. Perhaps, by focusing on the afterlife, they see this as a good thing. Following that train of thought just a few steps, however, and you end up with suicides and suicide bombers. These are antithetical to Islam, we’re told, Islam values human life. Both things cannot be true at the same time.
While Saudi governance depends on support from many sectors, including the religious establishment and conservative Muslims, it cannot allow any group to veto necessary reform. Merchants don’t like paying import fees and taxes, yet they must pay them. Social liberals don’t like the constraints on individual behavior placed upon them by traditional Saudi social values, but they must abide them until they can change those values. Religious conservatives needs to find new ways to keep the essence of their religious views in the face of a rapidly changing world.

Queen Rania Of Jordan Is Number One From The Arab World On Twitter

By ZINA MOUKHEIBER

Image via Wikipedia

Two royals, a revolutionary, an intellectual who tweets about the revolution, and a misplaced pop star in-between make up the top five Arab tweeters. Queen Rania, the Palestinian wife of Jordan’s King Abdullah II counts 1,509,885 followers on Twitter, making her by far the most popular Arab tweeter, according to Arabian Business–a Dubai-based publication. Trailing way behind is the husband of her half-sister-in-law, Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum with 393,281 followers. Wael Ghonim, the now ex-Google exec who helped organize the Egyptian uprising ranks number 4, with 147,864 followers, behind Lebanese-American pop star Mika of “Grace Kelly” fame. (Technically I wouldn’t put him on that list, since his mother who’s Lebanese can’t pass on her nationality because of retarded laws in the country; plus he doesn’t sing in Arabic). The intellectual is the insightful commentator Sultan Al Qassemi from the United Arab Emirates. He, of course, tweeted about the ranking. I’m betting that Ghonim will catch up with the royals. Queen Rania is also #76 on the Forbes list of the 100 Most Powerful Women.
Despite her social media savviness, the Queen is more popular outside of Jordan, where 36 tribal leaders recently compared her to Leila Ben Ali, the profligate and nepotistical wife of the deposed Tunisian leader. In a daring letter to the King, they accused her of meddling in state matters and bestowing property to her family.
“We call on the King to return to the treasury land and farms given to the Yassin family. The land belongs to the Jordanian people,” they said. “We still have loyalty to the Hashemite throne, but we believe that King Abdullah should stop his wife and her family from abuse. Otherwise, the throne might be in danger.” They also criticized her for throwing this past September a lavish 40th birthday party (which set tongues wagging in Jordan) in Wadi Rum, a touristic destination in the southern part of the country.  They fretted over “the party’s colossal cost … at the expense of the treasury and the poor.”
The articulate Rania who describes herself in her Twitter bio as a “A mum and a wife with a really cool day job…” has veered mostly away in her tweets from the political upheavals engulfing the Middle East. She does tweet her support for her husband’s stated commitment for reform. On March 29, using the hashtag WeAreAllJo, she wrote: “His Majesty: We don’t fear reform & will respect Dialogue committee’s recommendations on amendments related 2 parliamentary life.” And again: “His Majesty: Vandalism and chaos are rejected and a red line.” But she was silent on March 25 when clashes between government supporters and protesters calling for a constitutional monarchy left more than 100 injured. Regarding Egypt, she tweeted once: ”Egypt where I spent my university years. May you be blessed with security & prosperity for all in this new era.”  Same diplomatic tweet for Tunisia: “Closely watching developments in #Tunisia and praying for stability and calm for its people.”

Overstayers get until Sept. 14 to clear out

By ARAB NEWS

 The deadline for people who have overstayed their visits to Saudi Arabia to turn themselves in without punishment has been extended to Sept. 14, the Interior Ministry announced Wednesday.

This amnesty includes visa overstayers and people who are currently residing in the Kingdom in violation of the terms of their iqamas (work/residency permits), such as those who have absconded from their legal employment.
The ministry said the amnesty was extended because the number of people seeking to take advantage of the reprieve was so great that many were not able to get their exits finalized in time. The floods in January, which temporarily closed some consulates in Jeddah, was another reason for the extension.
The ministry urged all people seeking to avail themselves of the amnesty to complete their procedures as soon as possible through their respective consulates or embassies and through the ministry's Department of Expatriates.
“Violators caught after the grace period will receive tough punishments, including jail time and fines,” a ministry statement said.
Those who shelter, employ or provide transport to illegal residents are also subject to punitive action.

Salman urges all-out support for orphans

Prince Salman with a group of orphans at the inauguration of the first Saudi conference for the care of orphans. Abdul Rahman Al-Suwailem, chairman of the organizing committee, is on the right. (SPA)By ARAB NEWS

 Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman has urged businessmen and philanthropists to extend all-out support for projects aimed at enhancing the welfare of orphans in the country.

Opening the first conference on the care of orphans, Prince Salman said the event was aimed at developing better programs for the care of children who have lost their fathers or both parents.
The governor quoted some sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that highlighted the reward for those taking care of orphans.
“I and the person who looks after an orphan and provides for him, will be in Paradise like this,” said the Prophet, while putting his index and middle fingers together.
Prince Salman, who is chairman of the Charitable Society for the Care of Orphans (Insan) which organized the event, commended the government and charitable organizations for supporting orphans.
He stressed that such care was essential not only to win the pleasure of God but also to protect these children from deviation and getting lost.
“I hope the conference would discuss the experiences of other countries in taking care of orphans in order to help our charitable activities,” Prince Salman told the opening session.
Saleh Bin-Humaid, president of the Supreme Judiciary Council, commended Insan for organizing a conference with the intent of developing services for orphans.
“This conference aims at exchanging expertise and experiences within the Kingdom and other countries and promoting coordination among charitable organizations engaged in taking care of orphans,” he said.
Social Affairs Minister Yousuf Al-Othaimeen spoke on the government’s efforts in taking care of orphans in various parts of the country.  “Islam has made the care of orphans a duty of Muslims,” he said.
The conference will discuss 44 research papers presented by speakers from within the Kingdom and abroad. It includes eight workshops in addition to an exhibition highlighting the efforts of charitable societies in the Kingdom in caring for orphans

Jerash-Jordan

Najpopularniejsze tradycyjne sporty uprawiane w arabii saudyjskiej

Polowanie z sokołem jest tradycyjnym sportem o długiej historii w Arabii Saudyjskiej,
 W tym ekscytującym sporcie, człowiek i zwierzę współdziałają w ścisłej harmonii. polowania  na zwierzeta  są ściśle uregulowane i ograniczone.
Wyścigi koni i wielbłądów to kolejny sport bardzo popularny w arabii saudyjskiej.  Konie arabskie o tysiącletnich rodowodach, są piękne, wierne i inteligentne. Należą do jednej z najbardziej poszukiwanych ras koni. Tory wyścigowe w Arabii Saudyjskiej są nowoczesne i przypominają inne obiekty tego typu na świecie. Tym niemniej przyjmowanie zakładów jest zabronione.
Wyścigi wielbłądów to nastepny rodzaj sportu w arabii. Spektakularne, odbywające się na wielką skalę, wyścigi przeprowadzano na otwartej pustyni, i częstokroć uczestniczyło w nich tysiące zawodników. Zasady rozgrywania tych zawodów zostały zmodyfikowane w sposób odpowiadający wymaganiom nowoczesnych torów wyścigowych. Obecnie odbywają się one w każdy poniedziałek w miesiącach zimowych na stadionie w Rijadzie. Coroczny Królewski Wyścig Wielbłądów, który po raz pierwszy zorganizowano w 1974 r., szybko stał się jednym z najważniejszych na świecie wyścigów wielbłądów. Zazwyczaj w tych wyścigach, które odbywają się na 13,6 milowym (21,5 km) torze uczestniczy 20-30 tys. widzów. Ponad 2000 wielbłądów i jeźdźców rywalizuje w corocznym wyścigu odbywającym się podczas Festiwalu Dziedzictwa Narodowego i Kultury w Dżenadriji.

Edukacja podstawowa w Arabii Saudyjskiej.

Edukacja w Królestwie zaczyna sie od  przedszkola nastepnie sześcioletniej szkoły podstawowej, trzy letniej szkoły średniej i trzyletniego liceum.Rada ds. Edukacji Dziewcząt administruje szkoły i gimnazja żeńskie oraz  finansuje naukę czytania i pisania dla kobiet.
Pierwsza szkoła żeńska została zbudowana w 1964r. Obecnie edukacja jest dostępna dla wszystkich dziewcząt  i kobiet w kraju. Wiekszosc studentow  stanowia dziewczyny.Po zakończeniu edukacji podstawowej, studenci mogą uczęszczać zarówno do szkół średnich o roznych program nauczania tj : sztuki, nauk ścisłych i humanistycznych, jak również do szkół zawodowych. Postępy studentów studiów wyższych są oceniane na podstawie semestralnych egzaminów przygotowywanych i nadzorowanych przez Ministerstwo Edukacji.
Intensywnemu wzrostowi liczby placówek dydaktycznych funkcjonujących w ramach systemu edukacji, który rozpoczął się wraz z wprowadzeniem Pierwszego Planu Rozwoju w 1970r., towarzyszył równie intensywny wzrost poziomu jakości nauczania. Ciągłe dążenie do podnoszenia poziomu nauczania ilustruje fakt, iż w latach 1970-1992 liczba uczniów w szkołach saudyjskich wzrosła sześciokrotnie, podczas gdy liczba nauczycieli aż dziewięciokrotnie.
Osiągnięta w Królestwie średnia - 15 ucznia na jednego nauczyciela - jest jedną z najniższych na świecie. Tym niemniej rząd wciąż dąży do podnoszenia poziomu standardów narodowego systemu edukacji. Ogromny postęp w szkolnictwie został osiągnięty poprzez podniesienie jakości szkolenia nauczycieli, ulepszenie systemu oceniania uczniów oraz zwiększenie stopnia wykorzystania nowoczesnych pomocy dydaktycznych, w tym szczególnie istotne było wprowadzenie komputerów do programu nauczania już na poziomie szkół średnich. Usprawniono również administrację systemu edukacji poprzez przekazanie części kompetencji i środków do organów administracji lokalnej.
Chcąc umożliwić naukę uczniom saudyjskim mieszkającym za granicą Królestwo podjęło wysiłek utworzenia 3 instytucji edukacyjnych w Stanach Zjednoczonych, Wielkiej Brytanii i Niemczech. Uczniowie tych szkół (od przedszkola do końca szkoły średniej), oprócz typowego programu nauczania, są zaznajamiani z naukami islamu i uczą się języka arabskiego.
na podstawie ambasady arabii saudyjskiej

Married at 13, abandoned at 30

Salma fled her home after dad tried to ‘sell’ her again

 

Picture used for illustrative purposes only. (GETTY IMAGES)

When she was 13-years old, Salma (full name withheld) from Saudi Arabia was forced to marry a man aged over 60.
The man paid her father a dowry of SR250,000 ($68,000), but Salma says it was like she was actually sold.
Salma, now in her 30s, has no home and is deprived of seeing her six children following her divorce. When she tried to take them, she was thrown in prison for six months.
As if all this was not enough. After she was divorced and her children taken away, her father tried to sell her again - this would-be husband refused to offer more than SR100,000.
But it was her not her father who turned down that offer. Feeling that she had enough, she packed and fled her home.
“I was only 13 when this rich old man came and paid my father SR250,000. I was forced to marry a man who is as old as my grandfather… I was snatched off my fifth class at that age,” said Salma, from the central town of Makkah.
“He took me to his home in Madina and there I found that he already has three wives… I then started to spend my time playing with his children as I was a child and had no idea about marriage life.”
Salma, now in her 30s, said her marriage lasted around 17 years, during which she gave birth to four daughters and two sons.
“During my marriage to this man, I suffered from torture and very bad treatment… I then fled to my family’s house and stayed there with my children for nearly three years, after which I was divorced.”
The Saudi Alikhbariya newspaper said Salma first refused to give back the children to her ex-husband, prompting him to go to court.
“Police arrested me and I was jailed for six months… when I was released, I went back to my family and stayed for a while before another old man came and paid SR100,000 to marry me,” she said.
“I refused and fled home… I have been staying at mosques and parks all this time. My ex-husband still refuses to let me see my children. Sometimes I go to take a glance at them while going or leaving school and I could see clear marks of violence on their bodies. I think they are being tortured at home.”
The paper did not say where it met Salma or whether she has a home now. But it quoted a Saudi human rights activist as urging the woman to come along and present her case.
“If she comes and proves that her children are subject to torture by their father, then will we will talk to the police. We will also ensure protection for her and her children,” said Mohammed Kalantin, member of the Saudi Human Rights Commission in Makka.
http://www.emirates247.com/

Saudi elections - Women seek vote

(Reuters) - Sara Abbar knew what would happen when she and her 28-year-old daughter tried to register to vote in Saudi Arabia's municipal elections.
The vote, set for September, ruled out in advance any participation by the country's 9 million women.
"We will keep trying again and again until we get our right," she said after meeting a resolute "no" from the election official she encountered at a voter registration center in Jeddah when registration began on April 23.
"The demand for our rights should never be postponed so we will continue calling for them."
The municipal council elections, only the second such experiment in more than 40 years, highlight the contradictions that arise when an absolute monarchy rooted in austere religious authority dabbles in democracy.
The kingdom allows no political parties or an elected parliament. Religious police patrol the streets to enforce segregation of the sexes and ensure women are modestly dressed.
Its government announced in March it would hold polls for half the seats in municipal councils, but ruled out female candidates or voters. Local officials cited logistical difficulties arranging sex-segregated polling stations.
The decision sparked a campaign which Abbar and her daughter have joined called Baladi, Arabic for My Country, organised by women activists on Facebook and Twitter, to show up at polling stations around the kingdom and demand their right to vote.
Slogans aimed at encouraging men to register were plastered on buildings designated for voter registration. "Be a part of the decision making process," read one.
GUARDIANS AND MINORS
But in many parts of the kingdom, it was the women who responded to those calls. From the Western province in Mecca, Jeddah and Medina, to the Eastern province and even the capital of Riyadh, dozens of women headed to voter registration centers on April 23 to demand participation.
"Through this pressure we are attempting to change the decision, saying that the reason given is not convincing," said Nailah Attar, one of the campaign organizers. "We will continue trying until they stop us."
Organizers intend to force the issue of their participation through the end of registration on July 28.
"We expect that (female participation) can happen this year, and until the last minute we will keep thinking that and we have high hopes for it to happen," said Norah Alsowayan, who is based in Riyadh.
For her, the attempt to vote could chip away at Saudi Arabia's "guardianship" system, which requires women to show written permission from a father, husband or brother in order to travel, work or undergo certain surgeries.
"Women here are looked at as minors and it is crucial for them to be recognized as competent individuals. If that happens there will be positive steps to follow and the society's outlook on women will change," Alsowayan said.
Activists dismiss the claim of logistical barriers to women voters, noting that 2005 elections for the other half of council seats also excluded women, and that an election scheduled for 2009 was delayed on grounds of other logistics.
"If we don't seek our right, no one else will seek it for us," said one would-be voter, Yasmine Attar, outside a Jeddah voting registration center.
"All the steps that have been taken for women's rights were fought for, it wasn't given to them."
MEN BOYCOT ELECTIONS
While groups of women across the country struggle to register for the vote, a growing number of male activists say there is no point in voting at all.
While the municipal councils' role is to oversee projects headed by municipalities, many citizens complain the councils do have no real authority or influence in decision making.
Blogger Mahmoud al-Sabbagh says the country's first-ever municipal elections in 1939 gave more authority to councils than the latest round in 2005.
Councils then could oversee and approve municipal projects, whereas their role now is limited to suggestions submitted to central authority, he wrote.
"I will certainly abstain from participating in electing a puppet municipal council with no power," Sabbagh wrote on his Twitter page on April 23, calling others to do the same.
Sabbagh and fellow activists plan to register for the elections before abstaining from voting in order to demonstrate the number of boycotters.
"We should all issue electing cards starting from today, April 23, before abstaining from voting in September," Mahmoud Sabbagh, a resident of Jeddah, posted on his Twitter page on the first day of registration.
The boycott calls underline discontent with the pace of reforms Saudi King Abdullah promised after coming to power in 2005. They have languished in a struggle between conservatives who fear change and liberals who want it intensified.
"Men have gained their right to participate so they don't have the problem," said Alsowayan. "We still did not get that right as women and now it is our goal to obtain that right."
(Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Joseph Logan)

Dressing Kate

The dress.
Palace officials say Middleton wants to surprise William when she steps out of her Rolls-Royce and enters Westminster Abbey.
While everyone is speculating and predicting what the gown will look like, we asked some local fashion designers how they would design the dress.
Designer Sabrina Stapp likened Middleton to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, “She has a timeless beauty and style. But she is also very petite, so I would not want her dress to overpower her or completely hide her figure.”
Stapp's design is for a silk ivory dress with ivory embroidery and crystal detailing with several layers of a sheer silk for a full skirt. During the ceremony, Stapp would cover Middleton's arms with a shrug that could later be removed.
As for the train of the dress, it will be hard to top the extravagance of the 25-foot train on Princess Diana's dress when she married Prince Charles in 1981.
Stapp said the train should be “quite lengthy” and would need an extra piece of sheer extension, which also could be removed later.
Omaha designer Williams Torres created a design that he thinks would reflect Middleton's personal style.
Torres went with a “cathedral design” with a medium-size train, a sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves. He combined the sleeves with long gloves as a “perfect substitute for a long-sleeved gown.”
Torres used soft satin under layers of soft lace that have artistic beading on the outer layers. His veil is long and voluminous to complement the train of the dress.
These little details, Torres said, “will allow her to show her personal style and make her more comfortable for the ceremony.”
But why is the design of the dress cause for so much scrutiny?
“The dress has to rise to the occasion,” said Joanna Marschner, senior curator at Britain's Historic Royal Palaces, which takes care of dresses worn by past royal brides. “It has to be big, it has to stand up to the scale of the space and stand up to the scrutiny of all those eyes. It has Ao carry the day, it has to say something about our time, and it has to be the choice of the bride. She has to be comfortable in it.”
And if the pressure of billions of people watching at home isn't enough, Middleton must also deal with the political aspects of her dress.
It is a generally accepted guideline that the designer will be British, like many royal wedding gowns before. And even the materials used in the dress send a message.
Queen Victoria, for example, used English lace and silk woven in London to show support for British industry when she was married in 1848.
Her low-key wedding is seen as a watershed moment for royal wedding fashion. It was the first time a monarch had married for love instead of power and the sentimentality attached to the dress appealed to the masses.
Marschner said Victoria's wedding sparked public interest in the royal events, laying the foundation for the global interest in the 1981 nuptials of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer and the frenzy now over Friday's wedding.
No matter what materials are used or which designer is ultimately chosen, Middleton will maintain a bit of tradition by revealing the dress to William only when she begins to walk down the aisle.
This report includes material from the Associated Press.

Possible royal wedding dress designers

LONDON (AP) — What dress Kate Middleton will be wearing when she marries Prince William on April 29 remains one of the most eagerly anticipated and closely guarded secrets of Britain’s royal wedding. Here’s a look at some designers who may have been asked to lend a hand.

SARAH BURTON
Appointed creative director of Alexander McQueen shortly after the designer’s death in 2010, Burton is widely tipped among the British press to be Middleton’s dress designer — despite Burton’s denials.
Burton’s work is said to have caught Middleton’s eye when she designed an off-the-shoulder wedding dress for Sara Buys, a fashion journalist who in 2005 married Tom Parker Bowles, the son of Middleton’s future stepmother-in-law, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
The designer has dressed Cate Blanchett, Lady Gaga and Gwyneth Paltrow. She joined McQueen in 1996 as an intern and in September presented her first womenswear collection in Paris. Her clothes were not as dark or dramatic as McQueen’s but still bold enough to make her a fashion-forward choice for a royal bride.

BRUCE OLDFIELD
One of Princess Diana’s favorite designers, Oldfield is best known for his couture evening dresses and bridalwear. He counts Queen Rania of Jordan, Jerry Hall, Barbra Streisand and Catherine Zeta-Jones among his celebrated clients.
Oldfield’s style is traditional and timeless, and his gowns, made in classic bridal fabrics like crushed velvet and taffeta, would befit a royal wedding.

PHILLIPA LEPLEY
A luxury bridal fashion designer based in London’s swanky Chelsea — an area frequented by Middleton and her well-heeled friends — Lepley is known for her romantic, classic style. Lepley, who made wedding gowns for celebrities Davina McCall and Ulrika Jonsson, was an early frontrunner as a designer for Middleton.

ALICE TEMPERLEY
Known for Bohemian designs that use traditional embroideries and intricate embellishments, Temperley makes bridal gowns that are ethereal and vintage-inspired. Middleton’s mother and maid-of-honor/sister Pippa were recently snapped in Temperley’s London showroom, fueling gossip that she may be designing the bridesmaids’ dresses or the wedding gown.

JASPER CONRAN
Conran’s trademark style is clean and understated, and his bridal line is dominated by regal, modern silhouettes. Conran, known as one of Princess Diana’s favored designers, made the wedding gown of Princess Margaret’s daughter Lady Sarah Chatto in 1994. The designer studied at New York’s Parsons School of Art and Design before launching his label, which now spans clothing, perfumes, furniture and tableware.

SOPHIE CRANSTON
Sophie Cranston won the Designer of the Year award at Graduate Fashion Week in 1999 and then went on to work with Alice Temperley and Alexander McQueen before founding her own label, Libelula (“dragonfy”) in Spain. As Libelula grew in stature, she returned to south London, where the label has attracted a devoted following. She is known for her use of bright, exuberant colors and has designed numerous bespoke wedding gowns and bridesmaids outfits.

AMANDA WAKELEY
Wakeley, a self-taught designer, launched her label in 1990 and has since dressed celebrities including Scarlett Johansson, Demi Moore, Kate Beckinsdale and Dita Von Teese. Her bridal line is contemporary and glamorous, with lots of slinky, bias-cut silk dresses — perfect for an outdoor or a beach wedding but perhaps not so for traditional church ceremonies.

JENNY PACKHAM
Another designer with a vintage-inspired bridal line, Packham’s wedding dresses are often unstructured sheaths that dip low in the front and back — not exactly royal wear. Packham opened her first ready-to-wear shop in 2008 and her bridal gowns are now much sought after among British brides.

DANIELLA ISSA HELAYEL
Brazilian designer Daniella Helayel founded her label, Issa, in 2001 and has since been widely known as Middleton’s favorite go-to designer for feminine, elegant dresses. The Daily Mail went as far as to say that Issa has become “a name synonymous with Kate.”
Although she had dressed Hollywood stars from Madonna to Sharon Stone, the designer had not been widelyell known until Middleton wore a blue silk Issa dress to announce her engagement to Prince William in November. The dress — and numerous knock-offs — became an instant sellout.
Issa is known for soft silk jersey dresses in bright, tropical colors, but Helayel does not have wide experience with bridal gowns.

CAROLINE CASTIGLIANO
Castigliano, a popular bridal designer with six boutiques throughout Britain, set up her first bridal boutique in 1991, specializing in contemporary wedding dresses. She has been quoted saying she hopes Middleton finds a gown to show off her “tiny” waist.

Royal wedding guest list

Fairy tales have taken some beatings, but they never disappear.
"The beautiful princess and handsome prince heading off into the happily ever after is almost imprinted in our DNA," says author Michael Farquhar.
"There's an endless, bottomless fascination with royalty. In Britain, it's an enduring institution. Celebrities come and go, royalty is here to stay."
Princess Diana's marriage to Prince Charles showed the public just how false a fairy tale could be.
But now their son William - second in line to the throne - is set to marry longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton, all is forgotten.
On Friday, the next royal spectacle occurs.
Anglophiles everywhere will watch England's future king marry his college sweetheart at Westminster Abbey.
For months now, the guest list has kept people guessing.
In keeping with tradition, William and Kate have invited select exes to their big day.
"Since the male members of the Royal Family generally make a point of bedding as many high-born beauties as possible before making the inevitable march to the altar, the pews are generally filled with heartbroken young female aristocrats who, to put it bluntly, didn't make the cut," notes Christopher Andersen, author of William and Kate: A Royal Love Story.
"Camilla was front and centre at Charles's wedding to Diana, after all, as were at least a dozen or more of Charles's exes."
In addition to girl-and boyfriends past, William and Kate's guest list includes celebrities, heads of state, family and close friends.
The friends who've been invited have remained discreet, never broken their silence about the couple, and as a result have been rewarded with an invitation, Andersen says.
"These are the friends they can count on to keep royal secrets."
Here's a look at a handful of high-profile people who'll be there on the big day:
The spare: Now that the heir is off the marriage market, the spare is the most eligible bachelor in England. Prince Harry, 26, was kind enough to make his mother's sapphire and diamond engagement ring available to older brother Wills, who in turn gave it to Kate when they made things official. Nice. That's just one reason why Harry is best man.
William and Harry were close before Diana's death and even closer after, Andersen says. "There is no question that, next to Kate, Harry is the most important person in William's life. No one else knows what they've endured over the years. Harry has also come to regard Kate as the sister he never had. Poignant, really, because Diana desperately wanted a daughter but of course never lived to have one."
With a full head of hair and a face from both parents, Harry cuts a more rakish figure than his elder brother. Perhaps it's easier to be funloving when you don't have the burden of becoming king hanging over your royal head.
The kid sister: Philippa Middleton is Kate's lookalike sib and maid of honour for the big day. Known as Pippa, the 27-year-old shares her sister's long, dark hair and clean smile. Pippa is a party organizer who likes to attend parties: in 2008, Tattler Magazine named her "the No. 1 Society Singleton." She has had lots of boyfriends and may have a new flock of suitors after the world watches her attend to her sister.

Kate's parents: Carole and Michael Middleton were born into Britain's middle class. Long before the phrase "flight attendant" became de rigueur, she was a stewardess and he was a steward and flight dispatcher for British Airways. The couple has three kids; their eldest, Catherine Elizabeth (a.k.a. "Kate") will be marrying up, as they say, on Friday. The Middletons run a mail-order company called Party Pieces from a warehouse near their home in the village of Bucklebury, Berkshire.
The Beckhams: Becks and Posh are royalty in their respective worlds. Why'd they get an invite? "David Beckham met William at the World Cup in Africa and they have been friends ever since," Andersen notes. "Victoria is along for the ride." The Beckhams have been house-hunting in England in anticipation of Baby Beckham's birth. Apparently, even famous people want to be near mum and dad when a baby's coming.
Mr. Bean: Actor-comedian Rowan Atkinson has been goofing off for decades, from history-hopping stints in The Black Adder (later Blackadder) series to his wildly popular TV show, Mr. Bean, which spawned films and a cartoon. Mr. Bean is silly in a British way, with Atkinson emerging as a gangly collision between mime, clown and cut-up. He's a British treasure the same way that Jerry Lewis is an American treasure.
The X-factor: No hard feelings? There must be a few for Jecca Craig and Arabella Musgrave, who were serious love interests of Prince William. When the guy who got away is the man who would be king ... that's gotta hurt. "The reason these young women were invited . is that they have kept their mouths shut," Andersen says. By Andersen's count, William has invited at least seven of his exes. Kate has invited two.
Music royalty: Just a few weeks ago, Sir Elton John was "sweating it out, convinced that he had not been invited," Andersen says. "However, the treasured 'Golden Ticket' to the wedding breakfast being hosted at Buckingham Palace by the Queen finally came through for both Elton and his partner David Furnish.
"Elton is one of the very few friends of Diana's who are invited to the wedding," Andersen notes.
The prime minister: David Cameron is the guy who really runs Britain, and he does it without a crown, a palace or a horse-drawn carriage.
Madonna's ex: Filmmaker Guy Ritchie - the guy behind Sherlock Holmes is a distant (like, sixth) cousin of Kate Middleton.
The Virgin heiress: Holly Branson, daughter of Richard Branson, is a party girl with a brain. The 30-year-old is a pal of William and Kate, often accompanying them to clubs in London.
Random royals: Look for the kings of Tonga, Thailand, Jordan, Malaysia, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia; sultans of Oman and Brunei; the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and the emperor of Japan.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Royal+wedding+guest+list/4668592/story.html#ixzz1KZR95ZTX

Jordan court starts trial of Danish journalists

A Jordanian court on Monday started trial of cartoonist Kurt Westergaard and 19 other Danish journalists and newspapers charged with "blasphemy" for publishing Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) cartoons six years ago.

None of the defendants appeared in the court and the judge, Nathir Shehadah, decided to conduct the trial in absentia after he considered the publication of the warrants and the indictment sheets in local press as legal notification, judicial sources said.
The court adjourned the session until May 8, when the tribunal is scheduled to hear witnesses.
The lawsuit was filed by the "God's Prophet Unites us Campaign," a coalition of Jordanian academics, lawmakers, unionists, journalists, lawyers and politicians.
Westergaard published 12 cartoons of the Prophet (pbuh) in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on Sept. 30, 2005, inciting outrage in the Muslim world as well as a boycott of Danish products.
The charges, which have already been approved by the Jordanian public prosecutor, include "blasphemy against the Prophet and humiliation of Islam and Muslims," which are punishable under the Jordanian penal code, the campaign's lawyer Tareq Hawamdeh said.
arabnews.com

Let them drive

By MYRIAM VOLLANT, JEDDAH

The report projects the idyllic image of a society where women live happily traveling in a chauffeur-drawn car. I know many women, rich and poor, who suffer because they don’t get or can’t afford to have a driver. I agree only with the first five lines of the report — a report that does not go further than the experience of a handful of women. Here are a few points for their consideration:
1. If Saudi Arabia is not the appropriate place for driving a car, as some women interviewed by the reporter say, why are men still driving? I have driven from the border of Saudi Arabia to France with my 14-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter. In Jordan, the condition of roads and driving habits is the same as in Jeddah, and in Syria, the roads are terrible and in Turkey and Greece, they drive crazier than in Jeddah.
2. Your driver finds a parking lot after he drops you at the main entrance of a public place, but how many times we have to phone him to ask where he is? After you finish your shopping or work, you will have to wait for the driver — sometimes standing more than 10 minutes outside a mall or office.
3. “Remembering where we parked our car or parking far away from the door” disturbs some ladies. They will be even more disturbed to see some taxi drivers go past them because they don’t want you as a passenger or some men stopping their car near you and persisting in offering you a lift.
4. Some women are worried that the car is parked far away. Sometimes you will have to walk longer to get a taxi.
5. Traveling in a chauffeur-drawn car makes you feel like a princess, says one lady. What about others who can’t afford to have a driver and stand in hot sun in a street waiting for a taxi — usually dirty and reeking of cigarette smoke?
6. “I don’t have to care about the gas tank or going to the workshop or anything, I just have to make sure that he gets his salary on time and that’s it,” says a woman. A car doesn’t break every month. You have to check it the way you check your washing machine or your electronic gadgets. Women in the West change their own tires; it takes only 15 minutes.
7. One lady says driving a car in Saudi Arabia is no fun. Nowhere is it a fun. By the way, has she ever driven a car in Saudi Arabia?
8. If men drive crazy in Jeddah one reason may be it is all men. They don’t temporize their spirit of competition between them. Maybe they will change the way they drive once they see women behind the wheels.
9. Statistics by insurance companies in all countries show that fewer women are involved in accidents than men. Women drive more carefully than men too. A woman can do many things simultaneously unlike men.
10. Of course a woman with zero experience will have to learn how to drive properly, but many expatriate women and even Saudi women have got 10 to 25 years or more of experience in driving.
11. One lady is worried that “anytime you go out all the young men of Jeddah are following you everywhere.” You don’t have to get your car’s windowpanes tinted to avoid unwanted attention; wearing a niqab would be better. Don’t drive if you are afraid, and don’t take taxi, stay at home. Can you?
12. “Some religious people give a woman the nasty look when they see her faced uncovered, and I don’t think that they would accept seeing her in the driver’s seat anytime soon,” says one lady. Does she mean to say that these religious people find it preferable to allow a woman to travel with a male driver who is not related to her?
Only a minority of women may drive at first if the ban is lifted. But let this minority drive, especially divorced and separated women, widows and women with small children like myself.

Saudi women angered over voting ban

A group of Saudi women launched a Facebook page decrying a ban on women voters in a Saudi municipal election, officials said.
The group of about 60 women launched their Facebook campaign under the name "Baldi," which means "my country," after being prevented from voting in municipal elections.
The group told Gulf News Monday there are no laws limiting participation in the election to men. The group's chairwoman, Fawziya Al Hani, told reporters their protests outside voting places are not a violation of law.
Al Hani said women held peaceful protests at voting centers in Riyadh, Jeddah and Damman, the report said.
A woman "has the right to cast her vote and stand as a candidate," Al Hani said.
Elfat Qabbani, vice chairperson of the industrial committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, said depriving women of the right to vote came as a shock to Saudi women who are active in public and community service.
"I couldn't understand the fears expressed by some people regarding the participation of women in these elections," Qabbani said. "Previously women in Bahrain and Kuwait took part in similar elections and the experiments have succeeded and women have played effective roles in municipal councils in these countries."


Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/04/25/Saudi-women-angered-over-voting-ban/UPI-52071303745885/#ixzz1KZMfyc6f