17 Saudi women win seats in historic municipal elections
Even if it was only one woman, we’re really proud of that, rights activist says
At least 17 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, according to initial results released yesterday.
Sabq.org, a news website affiliated with the Interior Ministry, reported that 17 women had been elected in various parts of the country. Some results had been announced by the official Saudi Press Agency, including the victories of four women.
According to an official announcement in Riyadh, Huda Abdul Rahman Al Jaraissi, Jawaher Othman Al Saleh and Alya Mukaiman Al Ruwaili have won enough votes to become municipal councillors.
Salma Bint Hizab Al Otaibi was declared a winner in a Makkah electoral district while Aisha Bint Humood Ali Bakri won a seat in Jazan in the southwest.
Even if it was only one woman, we’re really proud of that. Honestly, we weren’t expecting anyone to win,” said Sahar Hassan Naseef, a women’s rights activist in Jeddah.
But with 2,106 seats up for election, the nine women would comprise less than one per cent of Saudi Arabia’s elected council membership.
More than 900 women were among the 6,440 candidates running for seats on 284 councils. They had to overcome a number of obstacles to participate in the landmark poll.
Over a dozen 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, according to initial results released yesterday.
The women hail from vastly different parts of the country, ranging from Saudi Arabia’s capital and to the Red Sea city of Jeddah and to a small village near Islam’s holiest sites in Makkah.
According to an official announcement in Riyadh, Huda Abdul Rahman Al Jaraissi, Jawaher Othman Al Saleh and Alya Mukaiman Al Ruwaili have won enough votes to become municipal councillors.
Salma Bint Hizab Al Otaibi was declared a winner in a Makkah electoral district while Aisha Bint Humood Ali Bakri won a seat in Jazan in the southwestern part of the kingdom.
In Jouf, one woman was also announced as a winner, and Mona Al Omairi won in Ta-book. Two women made history in Al Qaseem.
In Ihsa, Sana Al Hamam and Maasooma Abd Rab Ridha became the first women to win municipal seats.
In Jeddah, Rasha Hifdhi and Lama Abdul Aziz Al Sulaiman, also made history.
Limited gains are seen as a step forward for women who had previously been completely shut out of elections.
Many women candidates ran on platforms that promised more nurseries to offer longer day care hours for working mothers, the creation of youth centres with sports and cultural activities, improved roads, better garbage collection and overall greener cities.
In October, the Saudi Gazette reported that harsh road conditions and long distances to the nearest hospital had forced some women in the village of Madrakah, where one woman candidate was elected, to give birth in cars.
A local newspaper reported that the closest hospital and nearest university were in Makkah, prompting some students to forgo attending classes. The article said residents were also frustrated with the lack of parks in the village.
It is precisely these kinds of community issues that female candidates hope to address once elected to the municipal councils. The councils do not have legislative powers, but advise authorities and help oversee local budgets.
Around 7,000 candidates, among them 979 women, were competing for 2,100 seats across the country.
The councils are the only government body elected by Saudi citizens. The two previous rounds of voting for the councils, in 2005 and 2011, were open to men only.
Three generations vote
More than 1.35 million men had registered to vote this time compared to a little more than 130,000 registered women voters. In Jeddah, three generations of women from the same family cast ballots for the first time. The oldest woman in the family was 94 year-old Naela Mohammad Nasief.
Her daughter, Sahar Hassan Nasief, said the experience marked “the beginning” of greater rights for women in Saudi Arabia, who are not allowed to drive and are governed by laws that give men the ultimate say over aspects of their lives like marriage, travel and higher education.
“I walked in and said ‘I’ve have never seen this before. Only in the movies’,” the daughter said, referring to the ballot box. “It was a thrilling experience.”