Saudi Women Promised Vote

In 1918 women across Great Britain celebrated the attainment of their right to vote in general elections. After years of the ‘suffragists’ peaceful protests and petitions to Parliament, in conjunction with the ‘suffragettes’ fury of passion, they were finally empowered with this right. We are now in the year 2011 and witnessing one of the last countries to grant voting rights to women. After its second ever general election of its history, King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia had announced that women would be allowed to vote and stand as candidates in the 2015 municipal elections.




The criticism of the credibility and significance of these elections by scholars are irrelevant, as this is a great step for this Islamic conservative state and for feminists across the world. However, it must be questioned if there is true sincerity regarding this ‘step for greater democracy’. One cannot help but analyse this revolutionary change within the political climate of the Arab world. Egyptians attaining democracy after the fall of Mubarak, the Libyans expected defeat of the forty year reign of tyranny led by Gadhafi or even the Palestinian international recognition and bid for UN statehood against Israel; human rights within the Middle East and North Africa are definitely under deep speculation all over the world. While these inspiring pro-democracy protests are occurring it is interesting to see the Saudi-Arabian peoples lack of enthusiasm regarding the matter.




The country that does not permit women to drive, condones honor killings, or even the country that has deep class struggles; the media fails to present any form of respective Saudi- spring that follows the format of their fellow neighbors. Can this ultra conservative country have a true belief of change or is this yet another attempt to quell the spread of an uprising in the Gulf? In February 2011 Saudi awarded $37 billion dollars in benefits to its nationals, similarly they gave financial aid to other Gulf countries such as Bahrain and Oman that had the same apprehension that people will demand constitutional reform. The wake of the Arab Spring that has previously overthrown ‘iron-fisted’ Tunisian, Egyptian and Libyan dictators, no doubt scares the royal family.




Giving the vote to women may perhaps be another way to show an active change in order to simmer the dissatisfaction amongst the people. Despite nearly a decade of women’s activism for greater political rights, has victory been truly gained? Nonetheless, it is a huge step forward for Saudi women, despite the root cause is being a King that is desperate to keep hold of his power and not a true desire for reform.