JEDDAH — A Saudi women initiative to boost the participation of women in public affairs has started lobbying since the last municipal elections back in 2011 to ensure that the fairer sex will be allowed to take part in this year's elections. The initiative, called Baladi (My Country), has some of its members insisting on visiting polling centers back in 2011 though women were not allowed to participate in elections then. Ever since 2013 the members of the initiative have started to make partnerships and agreements with different bodies to increase awareness of women about their role in society and to enhance the skills of women willing to take part in the elections either as candidates or campaign managers. Naila Attar, Baladi coordinator in Jeddah, said that they have been pushing for the involvement of women in the municipal elections since 2011. The group has worked on putting down a comprehensive plan aimed at introducing the needed skills and provide training to women, she said. Speaking to Saudi Gazette she explained that they are arranging for 13 training courses starting Sunday and targeting all women seeking to know more about the municipal elections and also those hoping to manage election campaigns. Training will be provided in different regions of the Kingdom. The program has been designed by Baladi in cooperation with the Arabic Institute for the Development of Cities which is under the supervision of the Arab League, and the project is also financed by Al-Walid Foundation. The training is divided in two categories, one that targets those hoping to participate in the election to give them detailed information about the deadlines and poll centers among other information. The second category targets women who want to manage campaigns for potential candidates. The course also aims at enhancing the management and public relations skills as well as increasing their knowledge about the elections in general. Attar noted that they have already started providing training to women in Riyadh. "Jeddah will start next Sunday followed by the Eastern Province," said Attar explaining that women who are allowed to take part in the training must be above 19. Women registering their names can participate only if they pass an evaluation test. Training will be provided in Jeddah and several other cities including Makkah, Madinah, Tabuk, Taif, Yanbu, Khamis Mushayt and Bisha. Attar said more and more women have shown their keenness to join the initiative. Attar said 75 registered women are well-educated holding masters and doctoral degrees. She said she was not sure whether those registering their names want to actually take part in the election process. She, however, expressed the fear that some manipulations of the law can be used to prevent women from effectively taking part in elections.
