“We have 23 female candidates and 153 female voters”, the head of the women’s section said.
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The other two women who won the elections from Makkah region are Dr. Lama Al-Sulaiman, vice-chairman of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Rasha Al-Hifzi. Her daughter, Sahar Hassan Nasief, said the experience marked “the beginning” of greater rights for women in Saudi Arabia.
“Some people don’t trust women”, Sharif said. The councils are the only government bodies elected by Saudi citizens.
Nassima al-Sadah, an activist in the eastern city of Qatif, said it didn´t matter whether women voted for their own sex.
Her uncle told her not to do it, but Salma bint Hizab al-Oteibi ignored his advice and ran for election.
But with 2,106 seats up for election in the polls on Saturday (Dec 12), the 14 women will comprise less than one percent of Saudi Arabia’s elected council membership.
Saudi Arabia has confirmed that Salima bint Hazab al-Otaibi has become the first woman elected to public office in the conservative Islamic kingdom.
Her friend Mona Alqahtani, who was following two candidates on Twitter who didn’t win, said she was optimistic and willing to give the prominent victors the benefit of the doubt, for now.
And within Saudi Arabia’s absolute monarchy, the election of public officials is mostly symbolic, if not an outright oxymoron.
A woman votes at a polling center during municipal elections, the first in which women could vote, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
She noted that the civil society has supported her campaign and added that they will work on strategic plans that they were working on before joining the council.
In Jouf, one woman was also announced as a victor, and Mona Al Omairi won in Tabook.
Women were excited with their first taste of democratic process and hoped that they will contribute to the growth and development of the country.
More than 1.3 million men registered to vote, according to the Saudi government.
But it remains to be seen whether this development will continue, given the opposition from many Saudi clerics to even small moves toward women’s emancipation. “They have proven themselves”.
Some results were announced on the official Saudi Press Agency, including the victories of four women.
Although council members exert limited power in a country in which King Salman and his appointees make most major decisions, many women appeared to view the elections as an important opportunity to be heard.
Turnout was just over 47 percent of eligible voters.
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Al Bar said the election in the region had been orderly and peaceful. There were 978 women running for municipal seats, compared to 5,938 men.
