Nadia Bakhurji

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Please improve this article if you can. (March 2007)

Nadia Bakhurji (Arabic: نادية بخورجي‎) made international headlines in 2005 by announcing her candidacy for a seat on the Board of the Council of Saudi Engineers.

Bakhurji, an interior architect who lives in the capital city Riyadh, found a loophole in the candidate stipulations. It was a well-known fact that women were denied voting rights but one the most important rules of candidacy was that a potential candidate must be a Saudi Arabian citizen, of which she was one.

Her defiance inspired other women to take a stand. At the time of the election Saudi Arabia was torn between embracing change and staying traditional. Women’s role in politics was reliant on the royal family’s decision. Bakhurji was optimistic that the government’s indecision would allow her to see the election all the way through.

She was ultimately not permitted to participate in the election. The Saudi Arabian government ruled that since there were no polling stations for women nor any women trained to oversee the polling stations it was not possible for her to be a part of the election process. Bakhurji plans to run again in the next elections coming in 2009. She said, “I wasn't surprised, but I was disappointed. As women we expect a certain amount of opposition to being empowered even though legally and religiously we're completely within our rights as citizens.”^[1]