Votes for Women Our World

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Life here is lived according to a strict

interpretation of Sunni Islam. Women must be covered from head to toe in

public in most cities. They cannot travel without the permission of a

male guardian or even drive a car but things are changing. Last year

women voted and stood for election for the very first time. With

extraordinary access to their lives, this film follows three women

as they campaigned for a seat in this historic election. And tried to

persuade this conservative society that women are capable of holding

power -- try. And we hear of their hopes for the future in this

complicated kingdom. December 2015. With just a few days

to go until the local elections, Karima is hard on the campaign

trail. Karima is based in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia,

one of the most politically and socially dynamic areas of the

kingdom Al Qatif. She is an artist and one of almost 2000 women

standing for election to municipal councils across the country against

almost 6000 men. But despite being in a minority, she is feeling

positive about her campaign. Particularly her online following.

Social media is big business here. Saudi has the highest per capita

YouTube views of any country in the world. This is a very young society

with two thirds of the population under 30 and Karima knows she needs

to engage these young voters. This is a remarkable moment in Saudi

history. This is only the third election held here since 1965 and it

will be the first time women have ever been allowed to vote. Today,

Karima is campaigning with her sister in the local shopping mall.

But the sisters soon discover that despite this enthusiasm, few women

have registered to vote. Some tell them it is because they do not have

an official ID card. Karima's experience in the mall is

typical. Only a tiny fraction of the 10 million or so women in this area

are registered to vote due to bureaucracy and a lack of interest.

So if she is to stand any chance, she needs to win male votes also.

Although women can speak with men in public, by law female candidates are

not allowed to canvass men directly. So Karima's husband Saud

has agreed to campaign on her behalf.

Women were granted the right to vote joins.

Women were granted the right to vote in Saudi in 2011 by the late King

Abdulla but the decision was not put into practice until 2015 and many

here still believe women are not suited to political office. But

Karima is not trying to challenge the status quo. Her main aim if she

won would be to protect the town's archaeological heritage.

With the elections only a few days away, Karima has arranged a meeting

with the local mayor to secure his support. According to the rules,

laid down for these elections, her spokesman will outline her campaign

on her behalf. Although this is the first time

women have been allowed to vote, the powers of the municipal councils are

limited. There is no elected government in Saudi Arabia and power

rests firmly with the royal family. And some say that these elections

are more of a symbolic victory for women. Across the country into town

of Buraidah in Saudi, Aljawhara is starting her campaign. This is a

deeply conservative area and it is common for women to be fully veiled

in public. Aljawhara is clear that should she be elected, her first

priority would be improving life for the country's women, one pavement at

a time. In Buraidah as elsewhere in Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed

to drive, so Aljawhara hopes investing in infrastructure and

pavements would increase women's mobility.

Today she is on her way to collect her official paperwork with her son

to begin her campaign. The elections are not the only sign

of gradual change here. The number of women working is rising and

thanks to reforms by the late King, Saudi women are now permitted to

work in retail and hospitality. Aljawhara says this all points to

not only the efforts of women, but increasing support from then. Her

family are at the heart of her campaign, particularly her husband

and son, who she relies on to be her representative when canvassing men.

She has been a social worker for 30 years and is dedicated to improving

life. Today, she is planning a campaign meeting in one of the

city's hotels. But in this meeting she won't be

able to speak to her male audience in person, so she needs to make sure

she will be able to communicate with the audience remotely.

She is finding the constraints on her campaign frustrating.

With just days to go to the election, Aljawhara has to hope she

has done enough. For those living in the south of the

country, the elections come at a testing time. The Kingdom is leading

a military intervention in Yemen against the Houthi rebels forces who

it says are backed by Iran. And in the city of Jizan you can hear the

conflict is taking place just across the border. Given the more pressing

threat of war, drumming up support for women in the local elections is

harder than ever here. As Saliha knows all too well.

Jizan is one of the most diverse cities and Saliha things the

elections are part of broader change happening here.

As Saliha is working full-time as a teacher, are -- her campaign is

managed by her sister. She is campaigning in the market but

quickly discovers in a country where elections are where occur rents few

people are interested in voting. As she isn't a candidate herself,

she can't approach male traders in the market directly to ask about the

elections. She is worried this apathy may

extend beyond the market. And it looks like Saliha has a fight

ahead of her to win support. Tonight, she has arranged to address

the voters in Jizan, but her brother is worried that she might struggle

to deal with men on the municipal council, should she win.

Tonight's meeting is a crucial chance for Saliha to win support and

for now at least she doesn't have to worry about confronting unruly men

face-to-face. For this meeting, she will read her

manifesto to a room full of women and the men will listen in another

room. Despite the best efforts, the odds

are still stacked against Saliha. It is election day and the eyes of

the world are in Saudi Arabia as the women get their first taste of

democracy. The turnout is around 25%.

In Jizan Ahmed has voted for his sister, Saliha but doesn't hold out

much hope. Across the country, Aljawhara is

getting ready to cast a vote. Her son and husband are rallying

last-minute support. Karima and her husband are nervously

watching the results as they go from one section to the next.

It is looking good for Karima. But as the night draws on, she learns

that she hasn't done enough. In the end, none of these three women

succeed in winning a seat. But they know that, despite their

disappointment, they have helped make history here. And Aljawhara is

determined to try again in the next elections in four years' time.

21 women were elected to the municipal councils, alongside over

2000 men. The numbers might be small, but these women all hope it

could signal meaningful change. On Friday, Shetland recorded the

strongest wind here for 16 years. Gusts of 105mph,

particularly damaging winds across