It remains to be seen whether male-female segregation will prevail in the councils, which have limited say in local government; in the Shura, men and women go into the building through separate entrances and sit separately.
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According to Osama al-Bar, mayor of the city of Mecca, one woman was elected in Madrakah village which is about 93 miles north of the city and houses cube-shaped Kaaba where Muslims from across the world come to pray.
In spite of these positive developments, the critics are saying that there are still too many restrictions that are making it hard for women to vote and run for office.
The election was the first in which women could vote and run as candidates, a landmark step in a country where women are barred from driving and are legally dependent on a male relative to approve nearly all their major life decisions. Under Saudi Arabia’s new King Salman, capital punishments have increased so much that the country issued a job posting seeking qualified executioners. The councils have a four-year mandate.
Of the 1.48 million voters registered for the December 12 ballot, 130,637 were women.
While this was the first election for women, men have voted twice before, in 2005 and 2011.
“I won because I don’t work for my personal gain”, Huda al-Jeraisy, one of two women who won in the Seventh District of northern Riyadh, said Sunday.
The Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Head of the General Elections Committee Abdullatif bin Abdulmalik Al-Al-Sheikh, announced that 2,106 candidates had won seats after elections that saw 47-per-cent voter turnout. The councils these women will serve on do not have legislative powers, but advise authorities and help oversee local budgets.
As the polls took place, the hashtag #SaudiWomenVote started trending on social media as this historic elections brought the women in limelight in for the first time.
Veiled Saudi women take photos of their children during a ceremony to celebrate Saudi Arabia’s Independence Day in Riyadh, September 23, 2009.
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And the high cost of running a visible campaign has proven prohibitive for some female candidates, she said; at least 31 dropped out because it was too expensive. “Only in the movies”, the daughter said, referring to the ballot box.
