The elections of the municipal council in Saudi Arabia were a stunning triumph for the country. Women were not just able to be candidates and to vote for the first time in the country’s history, but 20 of them got elected.
Writing in the Beirut-based daily Annahar, Amine Kamourieh argued that a number of women run great countries around the world and are members of parliaments where they compete against men. Yet many people would have never imagined Saudi women participating in elections.
“Though some may consider this step insignificant compared to the progress elsewhere in the world, it is nonetheless monumental because it represents a shift in the kingdom,” the author noted.
He went on to say that many Saudi women now attend university and pursue higher education in the country.
Writing in the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat, Amal Abdulaziz Al Hazzani observed that “the highlight of these elections was Saudi women’s participation as candidates and as voters for the first time ever. The elections came under scrutiny in the international media, which expressed interest only because women previously had no right to stand as candidates or to vote. Their participation is a giant step towards giving them more rights, regardless of the results”.
Positive public engagement during this historic event was much more important than the success or failure of female candidates to win any seats, the author argued.
That said, “the results were impressive, bringing much cheer from the general public, with fathers voting for their daughters, husbands for their wives, brothers for their sisters and men celebrating the election of women from their hometown to the municipal council. Had only a quarter of the female candidates won, it would still have been a valuable historic feat”.
The author went on to further describe details of the elections. The ratio of female candidates to their male counterparts was one to six. The seats won by women constitute roughly 1 per cent of the total number of seats, with the possibility of more women being appointed by the government to the remaining seats. The first woman to win these elections was Mrs Salma Al Otaibi from the province of Mecca.
Al Hazzani also noted that it does not seem fair to compare Saudi Arabia to other Gulf countries, such as the UAE, whose latest Federal National Council elections saw just one female winner from Ras Al Khaimah emirate.
“The cultural environment in other Gulf countries is much different from that of Saudi Arabia, where the former are more open and tolerant to female participation. It is true that Gulf women in general still have a weak political effect and electoral weight; they are more dynamic than those in Saudi Arabia, which affords them a greater chance to prove their competence,” she concluded.
* Translated by Carla Mirza
cmirza@thenational.ae
With additional translation by Jennifer Attieh
