This is Huge

From CNN:

What could be bigger than the appointment of the first female minister in Saudi Arabia?

Possibly the appointment of a new minister of justice who may actually help her get equal rights with her male counterpart.

Right now, Norah al-Faiz, the new deputy minister for women’s education, is bound by the same laws as every other woman in the land. She can do only what her closest male relative permits. For many women of her status and education, that law is interpreted liberally, but for the vast majority, it is not.

Over the weekend, at a single stroke, King Abdullah set Saudi Arabia on what appears to be an irreversible new course, one of modernization.

He replaced the conservative ministers of justice and the head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice with people closer to his way of thinking. The king also appointed a new head of the central bank, SAMA — widely seen by financial experts as a wise move — and brought in young blood and fresh ideas to the Majlis al Shura, the closest thing the country has to a parliament.

Seriously, ladies–this is an event to celebrate. It has been and will be a long hard road for female followers of Islam, but this is a huge step forward.

Here’s to freedom, equality, and tolerance for and from all the world’s religions (and those who choose none.)

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