Women in Saudi Arabia have voted for the first time in the country’s history, in the municipal elections.
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Women are banned from driving and must cover themselves in public in the conservative kingdom, which was the world’s last country to give its women the right to vote.
Despite the change in the system, female candidates were not allowed to address male voters directly while campaigning.
Hatoon al-Fassi, general coordinator for the grass-roots Saudi Baladi Initiative that worked closely with women to raise voter awareness and increase female participation in the election, said the ultimate goal in this election wasn’t to win votes.
She hoped women would be also included among the one third of council seats which are appointed by the municipal affairs ministry.
Overall results from the capital Riyadh and other major regions were expected to be announced Sunday by the General Election Commission.
But win or lose, the female contenders say they are already victorious. “Now we feel we are part of society, that we contribute”, said Sara Ahmed, 30, a physiotherapist entering a polling station in north Riyadh. “Women are partners of men”.
Two women won seats in al-Ahsa in Eastern Province, but their names were not immediately released.
Many women also said they could not afford the high cost of running a public campaign. “I promise I will represent her by all means”, she said.
“I’m proud of myself that I can do it”.
Still, the role of women in the kingdom has slowly been evolving.
Centre heads said they had received clear instructions to ease procedures to allow all voters, especially the older ones, to elect their municipal councilors. “And just to be part of the decision”, said Ahmed, the physiotherapist.
Nassima al-Sadah, a human rights activist in the Gulf coast city of Qatif, told AFP she had begun legal action over her own disqualification.
Human Rights Watch Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said Saudi Arabia’s political and cultural segregation of men and women is “making it hard for women to participate and build on this progress to create momentum for further women’s rights reforms”.
According to election commission data, almost 1.5 million people aged 18 and over were registered to vote.
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Saudi Arabia’s strict interpretation of Sunni Islam has given rise to an informal system of male guardianship over women that requires women be accompanied by a male guardian to travel or go to school.
