Saudi women can finally exercise one of their rights; begins registering to vote

                                                                                                               (C)Reuters

For the very first time in the nation’s history, Saudi Arabian women can register to vote. However, the roadblocks to voting they still face are a reminder of how much progress the country has yet to make on gender equality.
In 2011, the late King Abdullah announced that women would be allowed to run for office and vote in municipal elections. According to Arab News, at least 70 women intend to run for office and more than 80 has registered as campaign managers.
"The participation of the Saudi women in the municipal elections as voters and candidates was a dream for us," Saadi told the Gazette. "We are just at the beginning of the road."
However, while the legal barrier to voting has been lifted, other Saudi laws and culture could complicate women's efforts to cast their ballots. Limits to freedom of movement, inability to drive because it is illegal etc are some of the challenges Saudi women have to contend with in order to fulfill this dream. They have to rely on male relatives to take them to register and to vote.
Researcher Adam Coogle has said in an article for Human Rights Watch that: "To make serious headway on women’s rights, Saudi authorities should scrap the male guardianship system, under which ministerial policies and practices forbid women from obtaining a passport, marrying, traveling, or accessing higher education without the approval of a male guardian, Only then will Saudi Arabia’s women be able to contribute to society on an equal footing with men."
Culled from HuffingtonPost