Women are registering to vote in national elections for the first time in the history of Saudi Arabia.
In
what the kingdom’s officials describe as a “significant milestone in
progress towards a participation-based society”, municipal elections
will be held across the country later this year. And in a remarkable
move for a country where women’s rights are severely limited, women have
been allowed to both vote and stand for election themselves.
According
to the Saudi Gazette, two women named Jamal Al-Saadi and Safinaz Abu
Al-Shamat became the first to register as voters in their country’s
history when they arrived at the opening of electoral offices in Madinah
and Makkah respectively on Sunday.
Voter registration lasts for
21 days, but Ms Shamat told the newspaper she had been determined to be
“the first woman to arrive at the center”. She described it as a
national duty for women to participate in the elections.
King
Abdullah announced that women would be allowed to take part in 2011,
after their lack of involvement in elections that year sparked online
outrage. Then, he said the government “refused to marginalise women in
society in all roles that comply with sharia”.
Activists have
hailed the move as progress – but say there is still a long way to go
before women have equal rights to men in the kingdom.
“This long
overdue move is welcome but it’s only a tiny fraction of what needs to
be addressed over gender inequality in Saudi Arabia,” Amnesty
International UK’s Karen Middleton told The Independent.
“Let’s
not forget that Saudi Arabian women won’t actually be able to drive
themselves to the voting booths as they’re still completely banned from
driving. They are still unable to travel, engage in paid work or higher
education, or marry without the permission of a male guardian.”
Speaking
to AsiaNews in Riyadh, one of 21 female candidates at a workshop for
the December elections said she would be campaigning on a message of
“change”.
Haifa al-Hababi, 36, said: “Change the system. Change is life. The government has given us this tool and I intend to use it.”
Source:World News Channel