World

Saudis elect 17 women in landmark local council polls

Election was the first in which women could vote and run as candidates

Reuters December 13, 2015

PHOTO: AFP

RIYADH: Saudi Arabians voted 17 women into public office in municipal elections in the conservative Islamic kingdom on Saturday, the first to allow female participation, a state-aligned news site reported on Sunday before all official results were announced.

The election was the first in which women could vote and run as candidates, a landmark step in a country where women are barred from driving and are legally dependent on a male relative to approve almost all their major life decisions.

Despite barriers, Saudi women in first election bid

Sabq.org, a news website affiliated with the autocratic monarchy's Interior Ministry, reported that a total of 17 women had been elected in various parts of the country.

Some results had been announced on the official Saudi Press Agency, including the victories of four women.

COMMENTS (3)

Ali | 8 years ago | Reply Any comments from liberals? Or they appear only to criticize.

Rex Minore | 8 years ago | Reply A great feat for women in the country which was last in granting voting rights to women which the swiss women were granted in 1973. The new head of the "house of Saud" who has a cheateau in the middle of Paris and was the first to rent a villa in the south of france, instead of buying it, for family holidays, is on the right path to face upfront the 21st century. challenges. The next move should be to ban the capital punishment in the holy land, especially for rogue drug peddlers from foreign lands. Rex Minor

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