In 2011, now-late King Abdullah declared that women would be able to vote and apply for candidature from 2015.
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For the first time in history, two women have registered to vote in Saudi Arabia. At the time, the royal decree was criticized as an attempt to redirect worldwide attention from a harsh governmental crackdown on women drivers.
Only a few women, including an 18-year-old, have been registered in Makkah and Medina as the process began a week earlier in these two holy cities.
“The participation of the Saudi women in the municipal elections as voters and candidates was a dream for us”, Jamal al-Saadi, one of the women who registered, told the Saudi Gazette.
Make no mistake, though, Saudi Arabia’s grand rhetoric continues to mask a regime of gender apartheid. Saudi Arabia ranked 130 out of 142 countries in the 2014 World Economic Forum global gender gap report.
“The whole system of women’s subordination to men in Saudi Arabia needs to be dismantled”, said Philip Luther, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa. Saudi women still face massive barriers to autonomy, such as not being able to open a bank account, obtain a passport, or sometimes walk down the street on their own. In a country where women’s rights and freedoms are still heavily curtailed, women are still not allowed to drive for example, the decision to allow women to participate in elections marks an important step in the right direction. “Add.1.pdf” target=”_blank”>the removal of this antiquated sexist system. “I was quite ready for this day”, Saadi said.
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US aerial refuelling, intelligence and other assistance have also supported a Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.
