Jeddah, April 29: In a rare protest to Saudi electoral system, a woman has filed a lawsuit against the government for keeping a ban on women taking part in polls in the monarchy.
Samar Badawi said she filed the suit at the administrative court in Mecca against the municipal affairs ministry for denying women the right to register as voters for the municipal election.
Women demand an “immediate end to all preparatory measures related to the elections until a verdict is reached in this lawsuit,” she was quoted as saying by Media on Thursday.
“Our main demand is to annul the administrative decree that bans us from voting and running for office in the municipal councils,” Badawi said.
Last week, a group of women hold a demonstration against the ban on women participating in elections.
However, they were turned back by the head of a voter registration office in the city of Jeddah, who told them women were still banned from voting in the September 22 poll.
Women are also banned from driving and traveling without being authorized by a male guardian in Saudi Arabia.
——–Agencies