Saudi women deserve right to vote, says Colin Powell

By The Associated Press

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WASHINGTON — Disagreeing with officials in Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday that women should be allowed to participate in the kingdom's first nationwide elections.

"I think women should be allowed," Powell said in an interview with the U.S.-financed Arab television network Alhurra.

Saudi election officials said yesterday that there was not enough time to prepare women to vote in the elections.

It is a decision for the Saudis to make, Powell said, but "in every society in the world women have to be able to play their full role."

The elections will be held beginning next February.

The head of the elections committee, Prince Mansour, said women will not be able to participate in the country's first nationwide elections because authorities in the strictly segregated country did not have enough time to prepare for both sexes to run and vote. The electoral law has no provisions explicitly banning women, he said.

"It's difficult, given the limited period of time we have, for ladies to participate in the elections," the prince said at a news conference. The committee had a year to prepare for the polls, scheduled to begin Feb. 10 around the capital, Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, imposes strict restrictions on women, and conservatives believe that giving freedoms to women would lead to the corruption of society.

Saudi Arabia's only electoral experiences were some municipal polls held in a few cities in the 1960s. The elections are part of the government's measured response to calls for political and social change. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy with an unelected Consultative Council, which acts like a parliament. Political parties are banned and press freedoms are limited.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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