WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION LACKLUSTER IN JEDDAH CHAMBER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000257

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP;
PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/01/2016
TAGS: ECON KDEM KWMN PGOV SA
SUBJECT: WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION LACKLUSTER IN JEDDAH CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE

REF: A. 2005 JEDDAH 3455

B. 2005 JEDDAH 4941

C. 2005 JEDDAH 4949

D. 2005 JEDDAH 4967

E. 2005 JEDDAH 4925

Classified By: Management Officer Hector Morales for reasons
1.4(b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. In the wake of the historic November 2005
election for the board of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (JCCI),in which two female candidates were
victorious, participation by women in JCCI affairs has been
limited, and, in an April 1, 2006 election, only one woman
ran for one of 75 open seats on JCCI constituent committees.
Lackluster participation by women may be attributable both to
hostility to women's progress among some men in the Jeddah
business class, and to indifference among many businesswomen.
Jeddah gold merchants boycotted the election in protest over
a requirement that 100% of their employees be Saudi, and
threatened to do business in the Kingdom as foreign firms to
avoid the regulation. END SUMMARY.

FIRST JCCI ELECTION SINCE HISTORIC VICTORY BY TWO FEMALE
CANDIDATES


2. (U) On April 1, 2006, the JCCI held elections for seats
on five of its constituent committees. This was the first
JCCI election since the historic November 26-29, 2005 board
election, which was the first election of any kind in Saudi
Arabia in which women were permitted to run as candidates
(reftel A). In that election, female candidates secured two
of the twelve elected seats on the JCCI board (reftel B),a
stunning victory which was celebrated at the time as a
significant advance for Saudi women and as proof that Jeddah
is on the cutting edge of social change in the Kingdom
(reftel C). (NOTE. The JCCI board consists of twelve elected
members and six members appointed by the Ministry of Commerce
and Industry. The Ministry subsequently appointed two
additional women to the board (reftel D). END NOTE.)

"WOMEN DO NOT PARTICIPATE" IN THE JCCI


3. (U) This time around, only one woman ran in the JCCI
election. Howaida Samy Al Aosta was one of 22 candidates
seeking a seat on the real estate committee; she won a seat,
placing in the top 15. Twenty-nine lawyers vied for seats on
their committee, and 18, 17, and 16 candidates ran for,
respectively, the contractors, commercial, and private
schools committees.


4. (C) Conoff observed the opening of the polls at the JCCI
offices and was shown around by Sharaf al-Sharif, the Western
Region Branch Manager of the Saudi Export Development Center,
an organization established under the auspices of the Council
of Saudi Chambers of Commerce to promote Saudi exports (other
than petroleum). Conoff was present for more than half of the
time during which the polls were open, but did not see a
single one of the JCCI's estimated 3,000 female members.
After asking where the women's polls were located, Conoff was
informed that there was no separate polling place for women.
The Florida State-educated al-Sharif acknowledged the low
turnout among female JCCI members and said, "Women do not
participate" in JCCI activities. "This is a shame," he added,
"but I believe it will be at least ten years before women
participate normally." He said he understood why women may
feel uncomfortable becoming actively in JCCI affairs, noting
that "many men are hostile to their being here."


5. (C) NOTE AND COMMENT. In the November board election,
even after the Ministry of Commerce's eleventh-hour decision
to permit women to stand as candidates, which set the stage
for the first election in Saudi history in which women
participated on equal terms with men, turnout among women was
extremely low, with fewer than 100 of the 3,000 female JCCI
members casting ballots (reftel E). While international
observers have read recent elections in the JCCI and other
Saudi chambers of commerce like tea leaves, searching for
evidence of nascent democracy and theretofore unseen shifts
in societal attitudes toward women in Saudi Arabia, Saudi
businesswomen seem to be generally indifferent to the
elections. END NOTE AND COMMENT.

GOLD MERCHANTS' BOYCOTT


JEDDAH 00000257 002 OF 002



6. (U) Consulate contacts reported that gold merchants
boycotted the committee elections in an effort to pressure
the Ministry of Commerce to drop its 100% Saudization
requirement (i.e., mandatory employment of Saudis) for their
businesses. Merchants have reportedly threatened to cancel
their Saudi commercial registrations, transfer their
businesses to Dubai or other Gulf countries, and then operate
in Saudi Arabia as foreign firms, thereby lowering their
Saudi employment requirement to 25%. Contacts have said that
the JCCI will soon hold an emergency meeting to address the
merchants' demands.
Gfoeller