RIYADH, Dec 18: Saudi King Abdullah called upon women, who face strict restraints in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom, to be patient and reasonable with their demands. “I wish you luck, but please be patient, and patient and patient,” King Abdullah told women who participated in the oil-rich state’s fifth round of the National Dialogue on Saturday, the SPA official news agency reported.

But he also asked them to “demand what is possible”, it added.

Women in Saudi Arabia have to cover from head to toe when in public, and cannot travel without a male guardian, regardless of their age. They also cannot obtain an identity card without the consent of a male guardian. They are also banned to drive a car.

Saudi women were also barred from taking part in the kingdom’s 2005 landmark municipal polls to elect half the members of local councils, with a vague promise to allow them to participate in the next elections.

But two Saudi businesswomen in November swept to a surprise victory in chamber of commerce elections in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, in the first polls in which women were allowed to stand as candidates for public office.—AFP