Saudi Women Cast First-Ever Votes – And Vie For Offices

The vote has been hailed as a small step forward in the conservative Islamic kingdom, one of the most restrictive countries in the world for women.

Voting in the first-ever elections open to women in Saudi Arabia has come to an end.

According to reports, one of the reasons why Saudi Arabian women still refuse to exercise their right to vote is due to a deep cynicism over the municipal councils while some claim the Saudi government have failed to inform the public about the voting.

Saudi Arabia is going to the polls today (Dec. 12), electing members of 284 municipal councils across the country-and for the first time in history, women will be able to cast ballots.

Iman al-Mashrawi, a paediatric surgeon in Riyadh, said she had been persuaded to vote by a friend who was running for office.

The free service to take women to vote is a joint effort between U.S.-based tech company Uber and Al-Nahda Philanthropic Society for Women, a Saudi women’s empowerment group. Because there’s a lot of changes in this time, the age of the candidate, the age of the participation and also the candidate number.

Voting results are expected Sunday afternoon.

Saudi women said they faced difficulties registering to vote, citing a ban on driving, bureaucratic issues and a lack of awareness, according to Al Arabiya. Female candidates could not campaign directly to male constituents; they had to stand behind a partition or be represented by a man. “Her role is at home handling the house and raising a new generation”, he said.

The candidates are vying for around 2,100 council seats with an additional 1,050 seats appointed with approval from the king. Voters are segregated, with those women who have registered driven to and from their polling station.

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. Municipal councils are the only part of the Saudi government which is filled democratically, and the local councils mainly oversee community-level issues. All major decision-making powers rest exclusively in the hands of King Salman and the -male Cabinet of ministers. The monarchy only held two elections in the last 40 years and is the last country to only deny suffrage to women.

The winning candidates will serve four-year terms that begin on January 1.

“It’s the right of being a citizen that I concentrate on and I consider this a turning point”, she said.

“But Saudi Arabia continues to discriminate against women through myriad laws, policies, and practices”, the United States-based watchdog said.

Permitting women to cast their ballots is a key move by the late King Abdullah who was quoted saying in his reform that women “have demonstrated positions that expressed correct opinions and advice”.