Saudi Arabia's king appoints women to Shura Council

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.

The BBC's Frank Gardner says the appointment of women is nevertheless a significant step, and comes in the same week that the Saudi authorities controversially beheaded a Sri Lankan domestic worker convicted of killing a baby in her care.

On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed her deep dismay at the execution, and said she was deeply troubled by reports of irregularities in Rizana Nafeek's detention and trial. Her birth certificate also allegedly showed she was a minor when the baby died.