In a historic move, Saudi King Abdullah appointed 30 women to the consultative Shura Council in decrees he published on Friday.

In a historic move, Saudi King Abdullah appointed 30 women to the consultative Shura Council in decrees he published on Friday.

The decrees, published by the official SPA news agency, give women a 20 percent quota in the Shura Council, a body appointed by the king to advise him on policy and legislation.

One decree amended an article in the council's statute to give women representation on the body while the other named the 150 members, among them 30 women.

The new Shura council members are not permitted to mix with men, and are subjected to several restrictions, according to the decrees published by the SPA.

As they are obligated with Islamic veil, women will also be segregated from men inside the council, with a special area designated for females who will enter through a separate door so as not to mix with their male colleagues.