:00:00. > :00:18.The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Life here is lived according to a strict
:00:19. > :00:24.interpretation of Sunni Islam. Women must be covered from head to toe in
:00:25. > :00:28.public in most cities. They cannot travel without the permission of a
:00:29. > :00:36.male guardian or even drive a car but things are changing. Last year
:00:37. > :00:43.women voted and stood for election for the very first time. With
:00:44. > :00:48.extraordinary access to their lives, this film follows three women
:00:49. > :00:59.as they campaigned for a seat in this historic election. And tried to
:01:00. > :01:10.persuade this conservative society that women are capable of holding
:01:11. > :01:11.power -- try. And we hear of their hopes for the future in this
:01:12. > :01:42.complicated kingdom. December 2015. With just a few days
:01:43. > :01:54.to go until the local elections, Karima is hard on the campaign
:01:55. > :01:58.trail. Karima is based in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia,
:01:59. > :02:04.one of the most politically and socially dynamic areas of the
:02:05. > :02:08.kingdom Al Qatif. She is an artist and one of almost 2000 women
:02:09. > :02:13.standing for election to municipal councils across the country against
:02:14. > :02:18.almost 6000 men. But despite being in a minority, she is feeling
:02:19. > :02:48.positive about her campaign. Particularly her online following.
:02:49. > :02:56.Social media is big business here. Saudi has the highest per capita
:02:57. > :03:03.YouTube views of any country in the world. This is a very young society
:03:04. > :03:04.with two thirds of the population under 30 and Karima knows she needs
:03:05. > :03:33.to engage these young voters. This is a remarkable moment in Saudi
:03:34. > :03:38.history. This is only the third election held here since 1965 and it
:03:39. > :03:47.will be the first time women have ever been allowed to vote. Today,
:03:48. > :04:08.Karima is campaigning with her sister in the local shopping mall.
:04:09. > :04:16.But the sisters soon discover that despite this enthusiasm, few women
:04:17. > :04:17.have registered to vote. Some tell them it is because they do not have
:04:18. > :04:38.an official ID card. Karima's experience in the mall is
:04:39. > :04:42.typical. Only a tiny fraction of the 10 million or so women in this area
:04:43. > :04:47.are registered to vote due to bureaucracy and a lack of interest.
:04:48. > :04:58.So if she is to stand any chance, she needs to win male votes also.
:04:59. > :05:01.Although women can speak with men in public, by law female candidates are
:05:02. > :05:10.not allowed to canvass men directly. So Karima's husband Saud
:05:11. > :05:39.has agreed to campaign on her behalf.
:05:40. > :05:58.Women were granted the right to vote joins.
:05:59. > :06:05.Women were granted the right to vote in Saudi in 2011 by the late King
:06:06. > :06:11.Abdulla but the decision was not put into practice until 2015 and many
:06:12. > :06:23.here still believe women are not suited to political office. But
:06:24. > :06:30.Karima is not trying to challenge the status quo. Her main aim if she
:06:31. > :06:52.won would be to protect the town's archaeological heritage.
:06:53. > :06:58.With the elections only a few days away, Karima has arranged a meeting
:06:59. > :07:11.with the local mayor to secure his support. According to the rules,
:07:12. > :07:12.laid down for these elections, her spokesman will outline her campaign
:07:13. > :07:45.on her behalf. Although this is the first time
:07:46. > :07:50.women have been allowed to vote, the powers of the municipal councils are
:07:51. > :07:55.limited. There is no elected government in Saudi Arabia and power
:07:56. > :08:00.rests firmly with the royal family. And some say that these elections
:08:01. > :08:14.are more of a symbolic victory for women. Across the country into town
:08:15. > :08:18.of Buraidah in Saudi, Aljawhara is starting her campaign. This is a
:08:19. > :08:24.deeply conservative area and it is common for women to be fully veiled
:08:25. > :08:28.in public. Aljawhara is clear that should she be elected, her first
:08:29. > :08:46.priority would be improving life for the country's women, one pavement at
:08:47. > :08:50.a time. In Buraidah as elsewhere in Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed
:08:51. > :08:54.to drive, so Aljawhara hopes investing in infrastructure and
:08:55. > :09:24.pavements would increase women's mobility.
:09:25. > :09:30.Today she is on her way to collect her official paperwork with her son
:09:31. > :10:22.to begin her campaign. The elections are not the only sign
:10:23. > :10:27.of gradual change here. The number of women working is rising and
:10:28. > :10:35.thanks to reforms by the late King, Saudi women are now permitted to
:10:36. > :10:39.work in retail and hospitality. Aljawhara says this all points to
:10:40. > :10:45.not only the efforts of women, but increasing support from then. Her
:10:46. > :10:50.family are at the heart of her campaign, particularly her husband
:10:51. > :11:17.and son, who she relies on to be her representative when canvassing men.
:11:18. > :11:28.She has been a social worker for 30 years and is dedicated to improving
:11:29. > :11:29.life. Today, she is planning a campaign meeting in one of the
:11:30. > :12:25.city's hotels. But in this meeting she won't be
:12:26. > :12:29.able to speak to her male audience in person, so she needs to make sure
:12:30. > :12:45.she will be able to communicate with the audience remotely.
:12:46. > :13:11.She is finding the constraints on her campaign frustrating.
:13:12. > :13:14.With just days to go to the election, Aljawhara has to hope she
:13:15. > :13:24.has done enough. For those living in the south of the
:13:25. > :13:30.country, the elections come at a testing time. The Kingdom is leading
:13:31. > :13:41.a military intervention in Yemen against the Houthi rebels forces who
:13:42. > :13:44.it says are backed by Iran. And in the city of Jizan you can hear the
:13:45. > :13:51.conflict is taking place just across the border. Given the more pressing
:13:52. > :13:58.threat of war, drumming up support for women in the local elections is
:13:59. > :14:17.harder than ever here. As Saliha knows all too well.
:14:18. > :14:25.Jizan is one of the most diverse cities and Saliha things the
:14:26. > :14:54.elections are part of broader change happening here.
:14:55. > :15:03.As Saliha is working full-time as a teacher, are -- her campaign is
:15:04. > :15:07.managed by her sister. She is campaigning in the market but
:15:08. > :15:09.quickly discovers in a country where elections are where occur rents few
:15:10. > :15:26.people are interested in voting. As she isn't a candidate herself,
:15:27. > :15:28.she can't approach male traders in the market directly to ask about the
:15:29. > :15:36.elections. She is worried this apathy may
:15:37. > :15:50.extend beyond the market. And it looks like Saliha has a fight
:15:51. > :16:09.ahead of her to win support. Tonight, she has arranged to address
:16:10. > :16:13.the voters in Jizan, but her brother is worried that she might struggle
:16:14. > :16:59.to deal with men on the municipal council, should she win.
:17:00. > :17:05.Tonight's meeting is a crucial chance for Saliha to win support and
:17:06. > :17:06.for now at least she doesn't have to worry about confronting unruly men
:17:07. > :17:16.face-to-face. For this meeting, she will read her
:17:17. > :17:18.manifesto to a room full of women and the men will listen in another
:17:19. > :17:52.room. Despite the best efforts, the odds
:17:53. > :18:24.are still stacked against Saliha. It is election day and the eyes of
:18:25. > :18:33.the world are in Saudi Arabia as the women get their first taste of
:18:34. > :18:42.democracy. The turnout is around 25%.
:18:43. > :18:51.In Jizan Ahmed has voted for his sister, Saliha but doesn't hold out
:18:52. > :19:17.much hope. Across the country, Aljawhara is
:19:18. > :20:03.getting ready to cast a vote. Her son and husband are rallying
:20:04. > :20:42.last-minute support. Karima and her husband are nervously
:20:43. > :20:52.watching the results as they go from one section to the next.
:20:53. > :21:29.It is looking good for Karima. But as the night draws on, she learns
:21:30. > :21:35.that she hasn't done enough. In the end, none of these three women
:21:36. > :21:39.succeed in winning a seat. But they know that, despite their
:21:40. > :21:45.disappointment, they have helped make history here. And Aljawhara is
:21:46. > :22:07.determined to try again in the next elections in four years' time.
:22:08. > :22:14.21 women were elected to the municipal councils, alongside over
:22:15. > :22:16.2000 men. The numbers might be small, but these women all hope it
:22:17. > :22:49.could signal meaningful change. On Friday, Shetland recorded the
:22:50. > :22:53.strongest wind here for 16 years. Gusts of 105mph,
:22:54. > :22:57.particularly damaging winds across