week: 8-14 December
-Saudi Arabia holds its first ever election open to female voters and candidates.
-The absolute Islamic monarchy, where women are banned from driving and must cover themselves from head-to-toe in public, is the last country where only men had been allowed to vote.
-Human rights campaigners have welcomed the move, but warn there is still a long way to go in the fight for gender equality in a country where discrimination is institutionalised.