Popular ride-hailing company Uber was part of a historic election day on Saturday in Saudi Arabia. For the very first time in the history of Saudi Arabian politics, women were allowed to run and vote.
Many observers, however, expressed concern about how women would be able to access polling stations since they have to fully rely on male chaperones for transport.
“Let’s not forget that women won’t actually be able to drive themselves to the voting booths as they’re still completely banned from driving,” Karen Middleton, an Amnesty International campaign manager, told the Independent.
via Twitter.com/MozahsS
That is where Uber stepped in. The San Francisco-based company provided Saudi Arabian women free rides to polling stations on Saturday to ensure they exercised their right to vote, according to Reuters.
The initiative was a joint effort between Uber and Al-Nahda Philanthropic Society for Women, a local women’s group.
Saudi Arabia was the last country in the world to allow women the right to vote, aside from the Vatican City where only cardinals, a position women are not allowed to occupy, elect the pope.
