RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) – Saudi women are heading to polling stations across the kingdom on Saturday, both as voters and candidates for the first time in this landmark election.
More than 5,000 men and around 980 women are running as candidates for local municipal council seats. More than 130,000 women have registered to vote compared to 1.35 million men.
The election, which does not have quotas for females, is widely seen as a small but significant opening for women to play a more equal role in Saudi society.
Not many women are expected to win seats because of the sheer number of male candidates and because many had no previous experience running campaigns. Many women said they also could not afford the high cost of running a public campaign.
“I don’t consider winning to be the ultimate goal … but it is the right of being a citizen that I concentrate on and I consider this a turning point,” said Hatoon Al-Fassi, general coordinator for the grassroots Saudi Baladi Initiative that worked closely with women to raise voter awareness and increase female participation in the election.