In Milestone, Saudis Elect First Women to Councils

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — In elections that allowed
Saudi women to vote and run for office for the
first time, more than a dozen women won seats
on local councils in different parts of the country,
officials said on Sunday.
While the move was hailed by some as a new
step into the public sphere by women in this
religious and conservative monarchy, the local
councils have limited powers and the new female
members will make up less than 1 percent of the
elected council members nationwide.
The participation of women in the vote was a
milestone in a very gradual social shift for a
country that deprives women of many basic
rights, barring them from driving and from
making many important decisions without the
approval of a male relative.
Yet attitudes have shifted as more women have
begun working outside the home and the
kingdom’s youthful and well-connected
population has become better acquainted with
the rest of the world.
Three women and 17 men were elected to
public office in Riyadh on Sunday after women
voted and ran in Saudi elections for the first time
in the country's history.
The previous Saudi monarch, King Abdullah,
promised in 2011 to let women run and vote in
local council elections and two years later added
30 women to the Shura Council, an appointed
advisory body. His successor, Salman, has
allowed those decisions to stand.
But the kingdom’s economic, foreign and military
policies are set by members of the royal family
and ministers appointed by the king. The country
has never had a female minister.
The kingdom’s 284 local councils handle
municipal issues, and candidates campaigned to
fix roads, improve health care access and open
public parks. Only two-thirds of the council
members are elected; the rest will be appointed
by the government.
It was unclear late Sunday exactly how many
women had won across the country, as results in
many districts were announced locally.
Reuters reported that 17 women had won, citing
a news website affiliated with the Saudi Interior
Ministry. The Associated Press put the number
at 19.
Just under 1.5 million of the kingdom’s 20 million
citizens had registered to vote, and the
government on Sunday put voter participation at
47 percent. The government does not have
statistics on numbers of eligible voters.
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