Women campaign for Saudi seats
Print Edition
HUNDREDS of Saudi women began campaigning for public office yesterday in a first for women in the Muslim kingdom’s slow reform process, even as two activists were disqualified.
More than 900 women are standing alongside thousands of men in the December 12 municipal ballot, which will also mark the first time women are allowed to vote.
“I’ve been eliminated as a candidate for the municipal elections,” Loujain Hathloul said in a tweet. “I will be filing my objection via the appropriate channels.”
Saudi authorities detained Hathloul for more than two months after she tried to drive into the kingdom last December from United Arab Emirates, in defiance of a Saudi ban on female motorists.
Nassima al-Sadah, a human rights activist and would-be candidate in the Gulf coast city of Qatif, said officials told her late on Saturday that her name had been removed from the list.
“I don’t know why,” said Sadah, who was trained in electioneering by the National Democratic Institute, a Washington non-profit organization.
Her campaign is on hold as she tries to clarify her case.
The country’s first municipal elections were held in 2005, followed by another vote in 2011. In both cases only men were allowed to take part.
From restaurants to banks, offices and election facilities, the sexes are strictly segregated.
“We will vote for the women even though we don’t know anything about them,” Um Fawaz, a teacher in her 20s, said in Hafr al-Batin city. “It’s enough that they are women.”
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive. They must also cover themselves in black from head to toe in public and require permission from male family members to travel, work or marry.
But Aljazi al-Hossaini, a candidate in Riyadh, said she did not need any man in her family to grant permission for her candidacy.
“It’s by myself,” the management consultant said.
The late King Abdullah said women would participate in this year’s vote.
Abdullah died in January and was succeeded by Salman, who stuck to the election timetable.
About 7,000 people are vying for seats on 284 municipal councils, according to the Saudi electoral commission.
Only around 131,000 women have signed up to vote, compared to more than 1.35 million men, out of a population of 21 million.
Although the voting age has been lowered to 18 from 21 and the proportion of elected council members has increased to two-thirds, winning a seat remains a challenge for women.
Hossaini said she had hoped to set up a campaign tent in Riyadh’s Diriyah area. “When I asked the man to give permission for his land ... he refused,” she said.
Like other contenders, she plans to focus online.
Electoral democracy is still a novel concept in a country where tribal loyalties remain strong and “wasta” — knowing the right people — is powerful.
Saud al-Shammry, 43 of Riyadh, said it was time for a new approach.
“We strive for development and real change, free from tribal or family biases,” he said, adding “there’s a big possibility” he could vote for a woman, if her platform is right.
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