They expected the number of new women Shoura members could reach 35 in the 150-member council. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is likely to announce the new women members shortly.
According to one source, women members would sit on the right side of the president, dismissing previous reports that they would be sitting in the chairs allocated for guests and women consultants.
The Shoura will appoint women administrators and secretaries to support women members, Al-Watan Arabic daily reported, quoting another source. There is no official confirmation on the number of women members.
“It is very difficult now to determine the number of women Shoura members,” said Muhammad Al-Muhanna, spokesman of the council, adding that arrangements for their membership would be announced shortly.
In September 2011, King Abdullah said women would become members of the consultative council in the next term.
“We made this decision because we refuse to marginalize women in Saudi society in their roles that comply with the Islamic Shariah,” the king said, adding that the decision was taken following consultations with many Saudi Islamic scholars who had supported the move.
“Muslim women in our history have had stances that cannot be sidelined, be it through views or advice, since the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him),” the king told a Shoura meeting.
According to the king, “balanced modernization compatible with Islamic values was a significant necessity.”
He added: “It is our right to receive your opinion and advice according to the fundamentals of our religion. Whoever trespasses them is arrogant and must take responsibility for those actions.”
King Abdullah also announced that women would have the right to run and vote in the 2015 municipal elections. Women in the GCC countries and elsewhere have warmly welcomed the king’s initiative.
