Saudi Women Have Been Granted Suffrage, but Progress Has Yet to Be Made

Photo by STR/AFP/Getty Images
Image via STR/AFP/Getty Images

Saudi Arabia has long been known as one of the most patriarchal of the world’s countries — based on its restrictive attitudes and legal systems that disservice women. However, due to a recent decision on the part of the country’s ruler, King Salman, Saudi women can now vote in 2015 elections.

This isn’t a new idea; women have been petitioning for the vote in Saudi Arabia for years, and the country’s previous ruler, King Abdullah, promised in 2011 that women would be able to vote beginning this year. The fact that King Salman actually followed up on Abdullah’s promise is a positive sign, showing that Salman might continue granting greater freedoms to women and making the social reforms seen in his successor’s rule. Of course, the promise of suffrage is different than actually having the ability to vote in any given election. Upon Abdullah’s 2011 decree, many questioned why his decision required four years to be implemented. One Saudi feminist, Wajeha al-Hawaidar, even asked, “Why not tomorrow?”

This is a great step in gender equality in Saudi Arabia, and now nearly all of the countries in the world grant suffrage to women. (The only remaining exception is the Vatican City, in which only cardinals can vote, not women or unordained men.) The decree even allows women to run for office in certain elections. In an interview with the Saudi Gazette, one woman who registered, Jamal al-Saadi, called it “a dream for us” and stated that she “was quite ready for this day.”

However, female voter registration in the past few days has not been as high as many supporters had hoped. Registration opened on August 30, and so far only 16 women have registered to vote, partially because the new decision does not account for ingrained sexism in the country’s legal system. Voting centers remain segregated, with only some centers designated for women. Also, women in Saudi Arabia are not permitted to be issued driver’s licenses, making it impossible for them to legally drive to a voting center without the help of a man. The families of many women may not support her decision to vote and might prohibit her from doing so. In any case, mainstream Saudi society isn’t necessarily supportive of Salman’s decision. Until it can be said that women live in a society that does not condemn their decision to vote and that they have the ability to practically access a voting center, can it really be said that they have been granted suffrage at all?

While this change marks great leaps forward in feminism both for Saudi women and women worldwide, there is still progress to be made. Driving rights for women in Saudi Arabia, as well as several other rights that many take for granted, are necessary for a truly fair or equal society. We can only hope that this change should spur other improvements and that as many women as possible have the opportunity to exercise this new right.

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