​Saudi Women Activists Pen Petition To End Men's "Absolute Authority"

In time for International Women’s Day, a group of 10 Saudi women activists have signed a petition, appealing to Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council, the 150-member Consultative Assembly to expand women’s right in the country.

According to Al-Jazeera:

Activist Aziza Yousef told AFP news agency on Sunday that “rights activists have petitioned the Shura (consultative) Council on the occasion of the International Women’s Day [on March 8] demanding an end to the absolute authority of men over women”.

They demanded “measures to protect [women’s] rights,” in their petition to the Shura Council, she said.

Dr. Aziza Al-Yousef, a professor at King Saud University, has been at the forefront of various campaigns to promote women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, from organizing driving protests to promoting girls to play sports in schools.

While the Shura Council is not a legislative body, it can propose and interpret laws—one can hope that with increased female membership, this may mark the beginning of a turn for women in the kingdom.

Image via AP.