Equal is equal

“My message during my campaign is simple: Change the system. Change is life. The government has given us this tool and I intend to use it,” said Haifa Al-Hababi, one of the 21 female candidates who is preparing to stand in the Dec. 12 municipal election as reported by Asia News.

Saudi Arabia’s discriminatory male guardianship system continues to dominate the lives of women, despite government pledges to abolish it. According to Human Rights Watch, the system forbids women from obtaining a passport, marrying, traveling, driving, or accessing higher education without the approval of a male guardian, usually a husband, father, brother, or son.

The late King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz announced that women would be allowed to run for office and elect representatives in the 2015 elections, after a social media protest on the lack of women’s rights sparked outrage online in 2011.

King Abdullah also appointed women to the country’s 150-member advisory body and allowed female athletes to compete at the Olympics in London in 2012 for the first time, as reported by The Washington Post

His successor, King Salman who took over the country earlier this year, continued to support the advancement of women, leading to a large influx of female workers entering the labor force in record numbers.

Saudi Arabia enforces a strict Wahhabi version of Sunni Islam, which places many restrictions on women’s activities and social rights. As of 2015, women still cannot drive a car, leave home or the country without a male relative, or receive medical treatment without permission.

Demonstrations are illegal in Saudi Arabia, where the al-Saud family has held a firm grip on power since 1932. The country’s first significant protest in favor of women drivers was held in 1995.”