A taboo was broken in Saudi Arabia this weekend when women voted for the first time.
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia boasts modern infrastructure of highways, skyscrapers and ever-more shopping malls.
But women still require permission from male family members to travel, work or marry.
According to official figures, 130,000 women registered to vote in Saturday’s poll, compared with 1.35 million men. Just 979 female candidates, compared with 5,938 male candidates, managed to reach the final list, and the ability of female candidates to promote their platforms was limited.
Observer of the Near East 