DAMMAM: A small number of businesswomen turned up to vote during the third phase of elections to the Eastern Province chamber of commerce on Monday, seeming to confirm the view that women are sometimes their own worst enemies. Three women are among 36 candidates in the race for the chamber board membership.
Only 60 of the 890 eligible women cast their votes on a day that was reserved exclusively for women voters. All three women candidates, Suad Alzaydi, Fawzia Al-Karri and Dina Al-Faris, were present at the polling tent during the morning hours.
There was little activity outside the tent. Every hour or so, a woman here and a woman there arrived at the center, cast her vote and left. There was nothing to suggest that elections were taking place at the chamber headquarters on the Dammam-Alkhobar highway. It was surprisingly quiet and with the low turnout, none of the three women candidates can expect to win.
“Yes, the turnout is awful,” admitted Alzaydi. “We don’t know why women have not turned up in the numbers we were expecting them to. Maybe we will see more voters during the evening,” she told Arab News. “We have done all we can to enthuse the women voters. We called them up; had meetings with them; sent them text messages; explained our programs; what else could we have done?” she asked.Much against her expectation, the evening session saw no significant improvement in the voting numbers.
Speculating aloud about the poor turnout, Alzaydi felt there were far fewer than 890 eligible women voters. “While it is true that 890 businesses are listed in the names of women, it doesn’t mean that women are the actual owners of those firms. In many cases, it is the husband or brother or father of a woman who is the actual businessman. The licenses are issued in women’s names because most of the men are employed in government or other institutions and are, therefore, barred from running their private businesses,” explained Alzaydi.
Al-Faris, the young businesswoman who heads the Al-Faris Group of Industries, agreed. “That is true,” she said. “Not all women on the electoral list are actual businesswomen.”
Despite the poor voting numbers, Al-Faris was confident that she would win a seat on the Asharqia Chamber board. “Though not many women have turned up today, they have assured me that they will delegate somebody to vote on their behalf in the next two days,” she said. Businesswomen can authorize men to vote on their behalf and there are still two phases of voting left. “Moreover,” Al-Faris said, “I am expecting a lot of businessmen to vote for me. I just didn’t count on women to get elected. I have explained my program to businessmen and they have been very enthusiastic, very helpful and encouraged me to go ahead.”
Since Al-Faris is representing the young generation of businesswomen, she felt the conditions were ideal for her. “A lot of people that I met during the campaign said they wanted to see new faces. They want the new generation to take the lead. They trust the abilities of women to deliver and it is important for our society to have women on the chamber’s board,” she said.
Al-Faris was not at all dejected by the poor turnout. “Elections are new to us. The last time they took place in early 2006, I was a student. This time, it was a great experience for me. It has been very enlightening. The one thing I have seen during these elections is the ability to listen and to understand issues in their right perspective. I am a positive person and I have no complaints about the way this electoral exercise has gone so far.”
Some of the women who were involved in the election campaign were, however, livid at the lack of response from the large community of businesswomen. “This will reinforce the widely held view that we are our own worst enemies,” said Aliya Azzubair, a higher secondary schoolteacher and election volunteer. “We have simply forfeited the right to complain now.”
