- The Media Line - https://themedialine.org -

Saudi Women Launch First Election Campaign in History

Akhbar Al-Khaleej, Bahrain, Originally Posted in Arabic on November 29

 

Municipal elections are due to take place in Saudi Arabia on December 12, and the candidates have officially launched their campaign this week.

What is different about the current elections is that, for the first time ever, women are free to participate in them not only as voters, but also as candidates. This was made possible due to an order given by King Abdullah prior to his death, which enables women to run for local offices as well as to the Kingdom’s Shura Council.

Some 900 women are competing in these elections, vying for less than 200 available seats. One of the candidates, Nassima al-Sada claimed that “in order to improve our society, we must put women in all government offices.” Another one, who is a retired university professor, said that “this is the first step towards women’s rights. It is a big step for us!”

However, the participation of women in the elections is not without difficulty. Some candidates claimed that they faced difficulties registering as candidates. In addition, women are not allowed to speak in rallies in front of men. Instead, they must appoint a male representative to speak on their behalf in campaign activity. Many have already began reaching out to constituents through social networks, where they are not bound by these rules.

However, female candidates still have to convince the thousands of male voters to support them. As a Western diplomat in Riyadh said: “It will be a surprise if many women actually get elected.”   – Akhbar al-Khaleej staff