Though women in Saudi Arabia are still not allowed to work, study or marry without a male guardian’s permission, they will now be able to vote in the upcoming municipal elections. This is a landmark move taken by the Arab state as it takes a step towards gender equality.
Not just voting, women in the King Salman-ruled desert country will also be able to stand for the December elections this time. Jamal Al-Saadi and Safinaz Abu Al-Shamat from Mecca and Medina were the first women to register as voters.
According to the Saudi Gazette, a third of the 1,263 voting centres are being set aside for female voters.
Citizens credit this move to local women leaders and the newly-crowned King. The December polls would be the third municipal elections since 2005.
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