Voters chose none of the 26 women who stood for election in Qatar’s first legislative elections on Saturday, disappointing candidates who had wanted to lend a voice for women and other Qataris in the Gulf monarchy’s political process.
The vote was for 30 members of the 45-seat advisory Shura Council, to which the country’s emir is to continue to appoint the remaining 15 members. The body can approve a limited scope of policies for the small, but wealthy country, which bans political parties.
“To have all men is not the vision of Qatar,” said Aisha Hamam al-Jasim, 59, a nursing manager