Saudi Arabia Women Can Vote in Municipal Elections, if They Are Allowed to
Mr. Saleh al-Malik, a member of Saudi Arabia's non-elected parliament, said that there will be no clause saying that women are not eligible to vote or be elected and anyone aged over 21 would be entitled to vote, reported the Guardian. This means that women will be able to vote in October if their husbands allow them to, as Saudi Arabian women cannot drive, handle money or leave their home unaccompanied by a male relative.
It will take time to change deeply ingrained cultural norms. Saudi women were gradually allowed to hold certain professions, mainly in the educational and medical sphere, and to run their own businesses. Today, about 10% of private businesses are believed to be run by women. This fragile independence led to the unprecedented move last year, when 300 Saudi Arabian women signed a petition calling on the country's Prince to recognize their legal and civil rights.
Women do not vote even in Kuwait, even though the Emir has supported their emancipation. Conservative groups in parliament blocked law changes arguing that women's menstruation could cloud their political judgment.
The municipal elections and the broad law entitling everyone over 21 to vote are unquestionable signs that Saudi Arabia is changing.