Contrary to my earlier post, King Abdullah has named 30 — not 15 — women to serve on Saudi Arabia’s consultative Shoura Council. This brings their representation up to 20% of the Council’s 150 members. While I’ve yet to come across any names, I wouldn’t be surprised if at least some of the 12 women now serving as advisors to the Council were bumped up into senior roles. Saudi Gazette runs this AFP story:

Saudi king names women to Shoura Council for first time

RIYADH —Saudi King Abdullah appointed 30 women to the previously all-male consultative Shoura Council in decrees published on Friday, marking a historic first as he pushes reforms in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

The decrees gives women a 20 percent quota in the Shoura Council, a body appointed by the king to advise him on policies and legislation.

One decree amended an article in the council’s statute to allow women to be members while the other named the 150 members, among them 30 women. — AFP