The election, which does not have quotas for females, is widely seen as an incremental but significant opening for women to play a more equal role in Saudi society.
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Saudi Arabia’s municipal elections will have a historic addition this year – female candidates and voters.
The discrimination is largely institutionalised, and so will take a long time to battle.
Women in Saudi Arabia are finally being allowed to vote – despite still being unable to do basic things like drive or open a bank account without a husband’s permission.
But not all women trying to break the mould in the conservative kingdom had such a positive experience.
Although there isn’t a official regulation that bans women from driving, the nation’s deeply held spiritual beliefs prohibit it, with some clerics argue that feminine drivers “undermine social values”. They are also not allowed to wear clothes or makeup which may showcase their beauty, compete freely in sports, or even read Cosmo, which comes under the category of uncensored fashion magazine.
“The government should fix the problems that are making it hard for women to participate and build on this progress to create momentum for further women’s rights reforms”, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watch Middle East director.
The participation of Saudi Arabian women both as voters and as candidates for 3159 municipal council seats formed from 284 municipal councils is considered an important turning point for Saudi Arabia.
Iman al-Mashrawi, a pediatric surgeon in Riyadh, said she had been persuaded to vote by a friend who was running for office.
Hefzi is one of 978 women who registered as candidates for these elections.
They make up nearly 131,000 out of the country’s 1.49 million registered voters.
“You have to work extra hard to understand a female candidate”, he said, while he could share food or coffee offered by male contenders.
As many as 6,917 candidates are running in the election, including 979 females.
The candidates are vying for around 2,100 council seats with an additional 1,050 seats appointed with approval from the king. The rest will be appointed based on needed expertise such as degrees in engineering or traffic management.
The councils have limited responsibilities such as looking after the budgets for public facilities like parks and roads.
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According to the BBC, there had been no elections in the Kingdom for 40 years between 1965 and 2005.
