The late King Abdullah also issued a royal decree in 2013 mandating the Consultative Council, a royally appointed body that advises the King, be at least 20% women, the State Department says. Because of the kingdom’s strict separation of sexes – which applies to election facilities as elsewhere like restaurants – women will gather one day and men the next. Saudi females registered to vote this past August, but their political presence was still lacking: Of the 1.5 million registered voters there, only about 136,000 are women, according to Al Jazeera.
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Talking about the upcoming election, Poll Executive Committee Chairman Spokesman Jadeei Al-Qahtani said that the municipal elections are being monitored by the General Election Observers and handled by civil society institutions, including the Human Rights Association, who are allowed to enter polling centers.
“If we want to develop or reform our country we should put a woman in every decision-making level”, says Nassima Al-Sadah, a candidate in Qatif for the December 12 vote. She vowed to appeal, “but I don’t think it will change anything”.
Some women have said they will protest the 2015 elections, due to their belief that progress isn’t going far enough – and worry that King Salman might eventually scale back women’s rights reforms initiated by his predecessor. Knowledge cited by the Saudi electoral commission show about 7,000 candidates are vying for seats on the 284 councils.In accordance to the intekhab.gov.sa elections web site, just 130,600 women have signed as much as vote, in comparison with around 10 times in that assortment of male voters. Nassima al-Sadah (pictured above) was due to stand in the Gulf coast city of Qatif but was informed by authorities that her name had been removed from the ballot paper.
Aside from transport problems, women say registration to vote was hindered by bureaucratic obstacles and a lack of awareness of the process and its significance.
“I myself had a very hard time to register”, said Sahar Hassan Nasief, an activist in Jeddah who has many friends running as candidates.
There is also disappointment at the performance of local councils and their limited powers – restricted to streets, public gardens and rubbish disposal.
Saud al-Shammry, 43 of Riyadh, said it was time for a new approach.
He says “there is a big possibility” he could vote for a woman, if her platform is convincing.
Although the voting age has been lowered to 18 from 21 and the proportion of elected councillors has increased to two-thirds, winning a seat remains a challenge for women. “When I asked the man to give permission for his land… he refused”, she said.
The 42-year old is planning a social media onslaught supported by traditional banners and brochures.
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“Now it’s time to remove other barriers like not allowing women to drive cars and not being able to function and live a normal life without a male guardian”.
