Veiled hopes
http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,1404841,00.html
Next week, Saudi Arabia is to hold its first elections of any kind for
40 years. Women - who are beginning to make their way in business,
journalism and industry - had expected to have the vote: six even put
their names forward as candidates. But, in one of the world's most
repressive societies, they have been banned from the poll. Can the
women who've been struggling for their rights regain lost ground?
Natasha Walter finds them in determined mood
Saturday February 5, 2005
The Guardian
At the al-Mamlaka shopping mall in Riyadh, women are arriving after the
prayer break. Chauffeur-driven cars are drawing up and black-robed
figures without faces step out, the only splashes of colour the bags on
their arms - Louis Vuitton's pastel logos, Gucci's red and green
stripes - and the heeled sandals showing under the hems of their dark
wraps. At the entrance a sign, in Arabic and English, states, "Ladies
only. No cameras allowed. Please remove your face cover."
Natasha Walter
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.atheism/msg/f43d6747b5e7d937
Saudi Arabia
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.atheism/msg/50a87b61a222fa31
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