Saudi Arabia's king appoints women to Shura Council
There will be special seating allocated for women inside the Shura Council building
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Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has appointed 30 women to the previously all-male consultative Shura Council.
Two decrees reconstituted the council, which advises the government on new legislation, for a new four-year term - and stated that women should always hold at least a fifth of its 150 seats.
The king took the decisions following consultations with religious leaders.
The council has had female "advisers", but women still have little role in public life in the conservative state.
They are forbidden from driving, are currently excluded from holding high political office, and will get the vote for the first time in 2014. They are also unable to travel without permission from a male guardian and may not mix with unrelated men.
King Abdullah first announced that he was planning to name women to the Shura Council in 2011, when he also said they would be allowed to vote and stand as candidates in the 2015 municipal elections.
One of the royal decrees published on Friday by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) amended an article in the Shura Council's statute to guarantee women representation on the body, while the other named the 150 members, among them 30 women.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20986428