Oman: Woman Elected to Shura Council

In Oman’s Majlis al-Shura elections on Saturday, 77 out of 1,133 candidates were women. Neema Jamil al-Bussaidi won in the Seeb district of Muscat, making her the only woman who will serve in this council. The previous council included no women, and the prior group included two. Al-Ahram English writes, “The council, which was created in 1991, has the authority to question ministers and advise the government on socio-economic issues but has no legislative power or role in defence, internal security or foreign policy matters.”

Whereas Sultan Qaboos announced in March that he would confer greater authority to the Shura council in an effort to placate protesters,  ”the new powers promised for the majlis are as yet unknown.”