Saudi Women Gain Right To Vote
MALVEAUX: A reminder to vote for today's "Choose The News" winner. Text 22360 for the story you'd like to see. Text 1 for Apple's toxic gases. A Chinese watchdog group says an Apple plant is letting off fumes that are making folks sick. Text 2 for flying ambulances. Ride along doctors who use special planes to rescue patients in Africa. Text 3 for importing style. One of Cuba's best known designers is re-inventing the island's classic style and some big-name celebrities, they're wearing the new look. So, winning story is going to air later this hour. Next story. They still are not allowed to drive, even open a bank account, but women in Saudi Arabia now have the right to vote and to run for office in local elections. But change may not happen right away. We're going to go now to Mohammed Jamjoom in Abu Dhabi for the story.</s>MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: By Saudi standards the announcement was historic. On Sunday, Saudi Arabian King Abdullah making a major announcement that in the next round of elections that women in Saudi Arabia would be able to participate more in the political arena. That they would be able to nominate themselves as candidates and that they would be able to nominate other candidates. Now, while that's being interpreted in Saudi Arabia and outside of Saudi Arabia as the king saying that women will be granted the right to vote, now in Saudi Arabia some women activists who yesterday were elated at the news that they would be able to have a greater participation in the political process, are starting to wonder what exactly this statement means. And some disappointment is starting to set in. I've spoken to some women's rights activists today and they've said that while it's great that the king is now suggesting that they will have the right to vote, this next round of municipal elections won't happen for at least another four years. That's 2015. The king also said that women would be appointed as full-time members of the consultative council, the Shoura (ph) council, but that's not going to happen for at least another year and a half to two years. Women's activists saying they wished that the king had said that this could happen now and they're wondering why that didn't happen. They're saying that a lot can happen in the next year-and-a- half, two years to four years before the next round of elections happen. A lot can happen in that time. The more conservative aspects of the government there could try to reverse this decision. It could try to take the right for women to vote out of their hand before they actually officially get it. And that's where the disappointment lies today. Some are saying this is a real reality check and that the king should actually come out and re-assure them that this will happen and will happen as soon as possible. Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN, Abu Dhabi.</s>MALVEAUX: We're getting a lot of responses to today's "Talk Back" question. We asked, is President Obama's new fiery persona resonating? Well, Chris Yount says, "well, since he has made little attempt to work with Republicans, I think he's starting to unravel." Carol Costello's back with more of your responses.