Initial results show at least three Saudi women have won seats on local municipal councils a day after women voted and ran in elections for the first time in the country’s history.
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Salma bint Hizab al-Oteibi won a seat in Madrakah, an area within the holy city of Mecca, according to the Saudi Press Agency. “Change is a big word but the election is the way to make sure we are really represented”.
After a debate about whether women, who are not supposed to socialise with unrelated men, could use their photos on campaign material, the government banned all candidates from using their photos, saying this promoted equality. Journalists and election workers clearly outnumbered voters during a visit to a Riyadh polling place organised by the Saudi Information Ministry.
In the east, Sanna Abdel Latif Hamam and Maasooma Abdel Mohsen al-Rida were elected in Ihsa province, SPA said.
However, the election was for only two thirds of seats in municipal councils that have no lawmaking or national powers, and follows men-only polls in 2005 and 2011.
And a resident of northeastern Saudi Arabia, who asked not to be named, said the female candidate she wanted to vote for withdrew after local Islamic scholars objected.
According to reports, women accounted for less than 10 percent of registered voters in the elections held Saturday as female voters overcame obstacles ranging from bureaucratic hurdles to lack of transport in the ultra-conservative monarchy.
“I deeply believe in the importance of voting in order to be part of my country’s drive to empower women and elevate their status”, she said. “I feel empowered and proud”, she said.
Saudi women running for office faced several difficulties because of the country’s strict laws, which forbid female candidates to address male candidates.
With 2,106 seats up for election, the nine women would comprise less than one per cent of Saudi Arabia’s elected council membership.
“We refuse to marginalise the role of women in Saudi society in every field of work”, Abdullah said when announcing the reform. “Only in the movies”, Sahar Hassan Nasief said, referring to the ballot box.
“I voted for a man, but I hope a woman will win”, she said.
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Uber has proved popular with women in the wealthy desert state to get around amid limited public transportation and general unease about the safety of taxis, said Al-Nahda’s Chief Executive Rasha Alturki. But if they want to cast a vote, they’ll have to catch a ride: the kingdom still forbids women from driving.
