Saudi women were allowed to vote in elections for the first time ever, in a tentative step towards easing widespread sex discrimination in the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom.
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While many hailed the landmark event as a step forward for women’s rights in the country, critics say the modest step toward equality was merely symbolic. Mai Sharif, 32, was the 1st individual to vote at a women’s-only polling center in downtown Riyadh.
Fahda Al-Rwali, a female voter, explained why the election was significant for her.
WOMEN across Saudi Arabia have marked a historic milestone both voting and running as candidates in government elections for the first time, but just outside polling stations they waited for male drivers – a reminder of the limitations still firmly in place.
The move to open up elections and grant the right to vote to Saudi women was backed by the country’s late King Abdullah, who made the decision following the Arab Spring in 2011. They dislike seeing women in public-facing roles. “Some people do not trust women”, Sharif stated. Around 6,000 men and 980 women were running for local municipal council seats in the election in which 130,000 women and 1.35 million men registered to vote. “So maybe the woman can concentrate more than the man on those needs”.
Despite women’s participation in the vote, however, there’s a widely held sentiment among many Saudis that women usually do not belong in public life.
Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from Riyadh after the polls closed, described the elections as “momentous”. It was the last country to allow only men to vote. “If we allow her out of the house to do such business, who is going to take care of my sons?”
“The rulers are man and generally make the decisions so we are not used to women making decisions”, she said. “As long as she has her own place and there is no mixing with men, what prevents her from voting?” “We prefer men to win”.
Women also said voter registration was hindered by bureaucratic obstacles, a lack of awareness of the process and its significance, and the fact that women could not drive themselves to sign up. Under such laws, women can not obtain a passport, work in government, travel overseas or enter university without the permission of a male guardian, usually the father or husband.
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“To tell you the truth, I’m not running to win”, said Ms Amal Badreldin al-Sawari, 60, a paediatrician in central Riyadh. “We are looking at it as an opportunity to exercise our right and to push for more”.
