RIYADH: Saudi Arabians voted 17 women into public office in municipal elections in the kingdom on Saturday, a state-aligned news website reported on Sunday.

The election was the first in which women could vote and run as candidates, a landmark step in a country where women are barred from driving.

Sabq.org, a news website affiliated with the Saudi mona­rchy’s interior ministry, reported that a total of 17 women had been elected in various parts of the country.

Late King Abdullah had announced in 2011 that women would be able to vote in this election.

Huda al-Jeraisy — the daughter of a former head of the chamber of commerce in the central part of the kingdom — won a seat in Riyadh.

Salma bint Hazab al-Otaibi won a seat in Makkah. Lama bint Abdulaziz al-Sulaiman, Rasha Hafza, Sana Abdulatif Abdulwahab al-Hamam and Massoumeh al-Reda won seats in Jeddah.

Hanouf bint Mufreh bin Ayad al-Hazimi won a seat in al-Jawf. Mina Salman Saeed al-Omairi and Fadhila Afnan Muslim al-Attawi won seats in Northern Borders province.

Two women won seats in al-Ahsa in Eastern Province. Elsewhere in the province, Khadra al-Mubarak won a seat in Qatif district. In the southern Jazan province, Aisha bint Hamoud Ali Bakri won a seat. In Qassim, two women were elected. Another was elected in al-Babtain district.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2015