History created in Saudi Arabia as women register to vote

About 70 women told Arab News they intended to run in the elections, and 80 planned to work as campaign managers.

The decision was hailed as a progressive step for a country where women’s rights are severely limited, and four years later, it has finally become a reality.

Not unusual: A well-known businessperson and a schoolteacher registered to vote Sunday in Saudi Arabia’s municipal elections in December.

Linjawi, who is a first-time voter, credited local female leaders for pushing the initiative, as well as the newly named King Salman for approving it.

Since the 1930s, the official religion of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been a strict Salafi interpretation of Sunni Islam.

“The participation of the Saudi women in the municipal elections as voters and candidates was a dream for us”, Saadi told the Gazette.

She also had an answer for those who assume women’s choices at the polls will be influenced by their family men.

In September 2011, King Abdullah made the official declaration about this reform that women of Saudi Arabia would be allowed to participate as voters from 2015.

In a video from Saudi state television, women could be seen assisting with preparations for voter registration. “The move will enable Saudi women to have a say in the process of the decision-making”.

This is a big deal considering that until now, women in Saudi Arabia have been marginalised in society, have been under-represented in government and still can not drive a vehicle.

“To make serious headway on women’s rights, Saudi authorities should scrap the male guardianship system, under which ministerial policies and practices forbid women from obtaining a passport, marrying, traveling, or accessing higher education without the approval of a male guardian”, researcher Adam Coogle said in a Thursday article for Human Rights Watch. Here’s to the women of Saudi Arabia continuing to design the lives they want for themselves. “However, the ministry has stopped us from holding these workshops as they wanted the election program to be more unified and centralized”, said General Coordinator Hatoun Al-Fasi.