Okaz/Saudi Gazette MAKKAH — The husband of a municipal council member has been receiving threats ever since his wife ran for the elections in which 21 women were elected to municipal councils in a landmark voting. Hanoud Al-Harby said his wife Salimah Al-Otaibi won the municipal council elections for Al-Jumoom area in Makkah. "I am so happy and proud of my wife. She will be a good representative of the women in her community. "I supported her decision to run for the election and I stood by her," said Al-Harby. But his wife's candidacy has not been free of obstacles and challenges. "I received threats from some of the locals urging me to force my wife to pull out of the elections. But I never thought of listening to those ignorant people," asserted Al-Harby. He said that his wife has a Bachelor's degree in education and is the vice principal of a school. "I received phone calls from some of my acquaintances, asking me to force her to withdraw when her name was first announced. I spoke to them and told them that she is my wife and I have no problem with her running for the elections," said Al-Harby. "But they kept calling me. I had no doubt about my wife as the decision to allow women in the elections is a government decision. It does not compromise my wife's honor and religion," said Al-Harby. The hate mongers even tore down the banners and posters which Salimah Al-Otaibi had put up for canvassing. "My wife finally won by 68 votes. I received a lot of support when she won. Several officials, tribal leaders and religious scholars congratulated me and praised me for standing by my wife," said Al-Harby. The 21 female candidates represent just one percent of the roughly 2,100 municipal council seats which were up for grabs, but even limited gains are seen as a step forward for women. Around 7,000 candidates, among them 979 women, competed in the election for a seat on the municipal councils. The two previous rounds of voting for the councils, in 2005 and 2011, were open to men only. Many women candidates ran on platforms that promised more nurseries to offer longer daycare hours for working mothers, the creation of youth community centers with sports and cultural activities, improved roads, better garbage collection and overall greener cities.
