By Bonnie Messbarger
This weekend King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia announced that he was going to grant women the right to vote and run in future elections. This is a major win in the fight for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. The New York Times calls it, “the biggest change in a decade for women.” The last big change being a woman’s right to obtain her own national identification card back in 2001.
However, even with these new developments, Saudi women are still not allowed to go into public without a male chaperone (which is usually a male relative), they are not allowed to drive, and men generally prevent them from participating in any legal activities. Along with social acceptance, these things would still hinder women from being able to vote or run for election. Just as in the 1960’s when public education for women was introduced; it took years for it to be acceptable among the Saudi people.
So, how much is granting them the right to vote actually going to change when they are still under complete public control of men? If your husband, brother, or father refuse to take you to vote, or run for election, how are you to accomplish this on your own? While the right to vote, and run for election is a huge step in the right direction, there is still so much to do. We need more rights granted to these women. Something as simple as being able to drive a car, or go into public alone, which we in America take for granted so often, could be a huge turning point for these women in their journey for equality.
While the bigger picture looks a little bleak, the women of Saudi Arabia appear to be hopeful. The New York Times said, “Despite the snail’s pace of change, women on Sunday were optimistic that the right to vote and run would give them leverage to change the measures, big and small, that hem them in.”
We wish for more change to come sooner rather than later for these women. We will continue to root for you overseas!