For the first time in history, women across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have cast their votes on their preferred candidates in the country's government elections.
Saudi women gathered at polling stations in different points of the country to cast their ballots, marking this day in history as a step towards the inclusion of women in government policies and positions as well.
"We are making history. I just made history," said Karima Bokhary to The New York Times . Bokhary is a local council candidate who casted her votes in the city of Riyadh.
According to the report, Bokhary is among the 979 women vying for a seat in the municipal councils of Saudi. For now, the local council is the only government group wherein women are allowed to vie seats for.
"This is a day for all Saudi women if they voted or not," Latifa al-Bazei, 53, told The Washington Post. "We are gaining a right that was kept from half the country for too long."
"It felt really good," Salma al-Rashed, the first woman in Saudi Arabia to register to vote, told BBC. "Change is a big word but the election is the way to make sure we are really represented."
Despite their newly-given right to suffrage, however, only 130,000 women had reportedly registered to vote, out of 1.5 million registrants. This falls short of the 5 million eligible voters out of 20 million Saudia Arabian citizens.
According to reports, one of the reasons why Saudi Arabian women still refuse to exercise their right to vote is due to a deep cynicism over the municipal councils while some claim the Saudi government have failed to inform the public about the voting.
Elections themselves rarely happen in Saudi Arabia.
According to BBC, the elections last Saturday is only the third time to happen in the Middle Eastern country.
Before King Abdullah's death in January, he has left the legacy to allow Saudi Arabian women to vote. According to him, women in Saudi "have demonstrated positions that expressed correct opinions and advice."
Abdullah also appointed 30 women in the Shura Council before his death. The Shura Council is a legislative body that advises the King on important matters.
