(Image source from: Saudi Arabia polls: women allowed to vote for first time})
Finally, the Saudi Arabian women are being allowed to cast their votes during municipal elections. 130,000 women were registered to vote and 980 women are standing as candidates, first time in the history of country. The polls close at 5 pm and counting will begin on 13 December.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s tightest nation on women and last country of the world where only men were allowed to vote. Women are still banned from driving and must cover from head to toe in public.
According to Human Rights Watch,women have complained of difficulties regarding proving identity and residency and a limited number of registration centers.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director for Human Rights Watch said in a statement, "Saudi women have faced significant obstacles in their fight for their right to vote and run in the municipal council elections, but their participation on December 12 will send a strong signal to Saudi society that women are continuing the long march toward greater participation in public life.”
Fatin Bundagji, a spokeswoman for the women's suffrage movement in Saudia Arabia, told Foreign Policy that much will depend on how women do in Saturday's voting.
"My fear is that at this stage we have momentum, but once things settle, and if women are not elected, life goes back to normal," she added.
Saudi officials first proposed allowing women to vote in 2005 said Human Right Watch officials.
According to the government, the number of women in the Saudi workforce also has been increasing, from 23,000 in 2004 to more than 400,000 in 2015.
This election is in fact only the third time in history that the extremely conservative country has gone to the polls, according to the BBC.
The decision to include women in the vote was made by the late King Abdullah, who said before his death that Saudi women "have demonstrated positions that expressed correct opinions and advice".
In a statement to BBC Salma al-Rashed, the very first Saudi woman to register to vote said "It felt really good. Change is a big word but the election is the way to make sure we are really represented."
In this Muslim monarchy, female candidates have been unable to address male candidates and in public must speak from behind a screen. They have to seek their husband permission to open a bank account.
Despite the difficulties, female campaigners in the country remain optimistic. "This is a historical moment. I thank God I am living it," Saudi campaigner and academic Hatoon al-Fassi told the BBC.
"The fact that we have gone through this exercise is what really matters." she added.
Nandini
