user: Saudi women vote in landmark municipal elections

Thousands of Saudi women headed to polling stations across the kingdom on Saturday, both as voters and candidates for the first time in a landmark election.

Nearly 6,000 men and around 980 women are running as candidates for local municipal council seats. More than 130,000 women have registered to vote compared to 1.35 million men. The General Election Commission says there are at least 5 million eligible voters out of a population of 20 million, but the figure could be much higher.

Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to travel, work, study abroad, marry, get divorced or gain admittance to a public hospital without permission from a male guardian. (Hassan Ammar/Associated Press)

The election, which does not have quotas for females, is widely seen as an incremental but significant opening for women to play a more equal role in Saudi society.

Candidate Latifa Al-Bazei, a 53-year-old public school principal, said her participation in the race felt like a continuation of her service to the community. She wants to see Saudi Arabia's majority youth population under 25 years old get more involved in their local communities.

"I've served 23 years as a teacher and school administrator. My goal is development, change and innovation," she said at a Riyadh polling station after casting her vote.

At the King Salman Social Centre in Riyadh, Shara Al-Qahtani, a 50-year-old mother of eight, cast her vote for a male candidate whose name she says she recognized. Her two daughters said they voted for female candidates.

Al-Qahtani, wearing a loose black dress known as an "abaya" that all women must wear in public and a traditional veil covering her face and hair, said women being allowed to vote "is good for people and good for society ... Women are partners of men."

Despite enthusiasm for the race among some, not many women are expected to win seats because of the sheer number of male candidates and because many had no previous experience running campaigns. Many women said they also could not afford the high cost of running a highly visible campaign.

"I don't consider winning to be the ultimate goal ... but it is the right of being a citizen that I concentrate on and I consider this a turning point," said Hatoon Al-Fassi, general co-ordinator for the grassroots Saudi Baladi Initiative that worked closely with women to raise voter awareness and increase female participation in the election.

"We are looking at it as an opportunity to exercise our right and to push for more," she added.

Female candidates will also contend with a deep societal belief among many Saudi voters that women do not belong in public life. Abdullah Al-Maiteb made his way into a polling station in the capital Riyadh Saturday morning, expressing a widely held sentiment about why women shouldn't be on the ballot.

"Her role is not in such places. Her role is at home managing the house and raising a new generation," he said. "If we allow her out of the house to do such business, who is going to take care of my sons?"

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are not permitted to drive cars, largely due to pressure from religious conservatives in the kingdom.

Saudi women are also governed by guardianship laws that require them to have the permission of male relatives, usually the father or husband, in order to marry, obtain a passport, travel abroad or access higher education.

In line with Saudi Arabia's strict gender segregation rules, men and women are casting ballots at separate polling stations. Female candidates could also not directly address male voters, and had to either present their platforms from behind a partition, relying on projectors and microphones, or through male supporters and relatives presenting for them.

Municipal councils are the only government body in which Saudi citizens can elect their representatives. It's the third time in recent decades that Saudi men have been allowed to vote. The first local council election since the 1960s was held in 2005 and the second in 2011, with only men taking part.

Both male and female candidates relied heavily on social media this year to reach voters, using Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to announce campaign events and explain their platforms, which include ideas such as creating more youth centres, nurseries, parks and improving roads.

The candidates are vying for around 2,100 council seats with an additional 1,050 seats appointed with approval from the king.

While the municipal councils do not have legislative powers, they do oversee a range of community issues, such as budgets for maintaining and improving public facilities. All major decision-making powers rest solely in the hands of King Salman and the all-male Cabinet of ministers.

The candidates will serve four-year terms that begin on Jan. 1.

Karen Young, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington DC, says the success rate of women in the Saudi municipal elections "will be slim to zero."

"There is not a clear understanding of what the value of representation can be within the current political system, though there are many activists who are committed to continuing this opening and trying to expand it inch by inch," she said.

summary: For the first time ever, women in Saudi Arabia are going to the polls in municipal elections, and close to 1,000 are running as candidates for councils that don't have much power.

The White House Easter Egg Roll: 'Get Up and Go!'

The 133rd White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday will emphasize health and fitness with a little help from the singer Willow Smith and the sprinter Tyson Gay.

On Tuesday, the White House released the details for this year’s event, with the theme “Get Up and Go!”

Ms. Smith, Mr. Gay, Kelly Ripa, Colbie Caillat, Greyson Chance and a couple of “Sesame Street” muppets will be among the stars and athletes frolicking with the 30,000 guests who won tickets in an online lottery. Tommy McFly, a local D.J., will serve as the M.C.

Mr. Chance, a sixth-grade YouTube sensation whose haircut evokes Justin Bieber, said on Twitter: “I’m performing at the White House for the Easter Egg Roll! So excited and honored to be performing there!(:”

Along with the musical performances and the traditional egg roll competition, there will be celebrity storytelling, a dance party, an obstacle course, basketball, tennis, yoga and arts and crafts. White House chefs and celebrity guest chefs will teach healthy eating habits at a special food station.

About 14,500 hard-boiled and dyed eggs will be used for the egg roll and the egg hunt. An additional 83,000 eggs made from sustainable American wood will be given to children at the event and the rest will be sold by the National Park Foundation. Chirping eggs will be provided for visually impaired children.

The souvenir eggs will be available in purple, green, yellow and pink pastels and stamped with the signature of the president and the first lady.

About 3,000 of the tickets were given to local families in Washington-area public schools. Four thousand were distributed to military families.

For those of us who didn’t win tickets, the entire event will be streamed online. See the entire program and lineup here.

summary:

assistant: The tween singer Willow Smith will help the Obamas promote healthy eating and physical fitness.