Saudi women to vote for the first time in history of the kingdom

In what the kingdom’s officials describe as a “significant milestone in progress towards a participation-based society”, municipal elections will be held across the country later this year.

And in a remarkable move for a country where women’s rights are severely limited, women have been allowed to both vote and stand for election themselves.

According to the Saudi Gazette, two women named Jamal Al-Saadi and Safinaz Abu Al-Shamat became the first to register as voters in their country’s history when they arrived at the opening of electoral offices in Madinah and Makkah respectively on Sunday.