IT WOULD NOT take long to chart the history of women’s rights in the most conservative nation in the Arab world, that long-time ally of the west, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Women have hardly any to speak of: they can’t drive, they must conform to a strict dress code in public, they can’t travel abroad without a male relative’s permission, and so the list goes on. But then came this week’s elections at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce. Two women were elected to the chamber’s 18-member board. It doesn’t sound like much until you consider that this was the first time women have been allowed to contest any elections in the history of the kingdom.

Lama Sulaiman and her colleague, Nashwa Taher, both businesswomen, have been a little taken aback by their victory. Sulaiman, who was visiting Beirut, says she is still in “shock” at the result. “But we are ready for the next step,” she says. She has a PhD in nutrition from King’s College, London, and is on the board of her father’s firm of contractors.

The pair stood on a joint platform with several men. They campaigned on a promise to create a new centre for

businesswomen and to encourage women who work from home. Both champion more reforms for women. “Men should give women more credibility and give them a chance to prove themselves,” says Suleiman, 39.

“I would like to give other women more hope to come forward. When there is a chance, they should grab it right away.” So what more can we expect? Well, the kingdom is not exactly hurtling towards democracy. For one thing, Jeddah is slightly unrepresentative because it has always been more liberal than the rest of the country. And even there, women and men had to vote at the chamber of commerce on separate days to ensure that there would be no mixing of the sexes.

Then there is the question of Saudi Arabia’s municipal councils, for which elections were held earlier this year for the first time ever (and in which women could neither vote nor stand). Nine months on, the elected councils have still yet to be established.

However, little happens in Saudi politics purely by coincidence. It was the government that allowed women to stand in this week’s elections in Jeddah after several women candidates put their names forward. King Abdullah, who came to power only this autumn, has spoken of allowing a greater role for women in the future and there is talk that he may allow women to vote in the next municipal council elections. Reform tends to be incremental in this part of the world, but this week’s elections were still a step forward.

“King Abdullah has given us a chance,” says Sulaiman. “There was a green light and we went for it. We have to move forward instead of looking back”.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service