Fatin Bundagji hopes to participate in future elections

Fatin Bundagji, one of the three Saudi women who announced that she will run for the February 2005 municipal elections, said that she accepts the government's decision not to allow women to participate in the vote.

She, however, hoped that she will be allowed to participate in the future elections.

"The decision was taken due to logistic and administrative problems. The government had only a year to prepare for the elections and was busy making vote bylaws. It was a short notice announcement."

With regard to her plans to run in future elections, she told Gulf News on the phone from Jeddah, "Hopefully I will. But I know that whether I contest or not, I will definitely be voting."

According to Bundagji, many factors prompted her to announce her candidature.

"When I noticed that people were more interested in whether or not women would be allowed to vote, instead of highlighting the important municipal issues of concern, this bothered me," she said.

Bundagji said that she was interested in focusing on issues such as environment, consumer rights, recycling and waste disposal, and thought that these issues should be addressed by the municipal council.

"As a citizen, and a homemaker, these topics are close to my heart," she said.

These issues and the announcement by Nadia Bakhurji, the first woman to declare that she is running for the elections, encouraged her to follow the suit, she said. Bundagji said that she would have also focused on youth issues.

"Until now, the youth have been a neglected lot in our society. I wanted to empower them to develop and implement projects," she said.

Bumdagji, who is currently the head of the Women's Empowerment and Research Department in the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is a living example of Saudi women's potential and participation in advancing the Kingdom.

A post-graduate in English literature from King Abdul Aziz University, Bundagji has established herself as a professional in society.

On the women's role in the Kingdom, Bundagji said: "We need women to educate women, which is why it is essential to have highly educated and experienced women in all fields, "thus, measuring women's contribution to the Kingdom's growth is easier than any other country," she explained.

According to Bundagji, the Saudi government is supportive of women. "Saudi Arabia is committed to reform, and is working towards enabling women to enter the workforce and business world.

"The proof is the Council of Ministers' decree that allows women to work in several fields."

"We can't expect reform to take place over night. Any change will happen gradually, she added."

Candidates barred from using electronic media

• Saudi Arabia has barred candidates running for the February municipal elections from using the electronic media for campaigning.
• The general rules governing campaigning allow the candidates to use newspapers and magazines and seek the advice of individuals and companies.
• An awareness campaign to educate Saudis on the importance of elections was launched on Saturday. The campaign is intended to encourage people to take part in the election, the first of its kind in the Kingdom, where half of the municipal council members will be chosen through the ballot and the rest by nomination.
• The awareness campaign, sponsored by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs in cooperation with a specialised firm, will focus on Riyadh region where the first phase of the elections will be held. Similar campaigns will be launched in other regions to explain to the public the regulations governing registration of the candidates, location of ballot centers and other basic information.