This past week, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah granted women in his country the right to vote.
Whoop-dee-doo.
We act like this is news. This is nothing. Women’s suffrage is not a novel concept. Most people, including yours truly, believe universal suffrage must be a staple in any truly democratic society.
For those of you who are unaware, Saudi Arabia is a monarchy in the Middle East. The United States depends heavily on it for oil, so naturally our diplomatic policy toward the country has been something along the lines of “to each his own.” And I do mean “his.”
Saudi Arabia is a feminist’s worst nightmare. Women aren’t allowed to drive or leave the house unaccompanied by a man. If they do, they can be lashed. It is an extremely conservative and religion-centric society — like Mississippi with a bit more sand.
For some reason, every time Saudi Arabia decides to grant its citizens a little more freedom, the world rejoices. I just don’t understand.
Yes, women now have the right to vote, but like I said earlier, they are not allowed to drive or be in public without a male escort. So, if their husband doesn’t want to take them, they won’t be able to vote. Women’s suffrage is dependent on male accompaniment. How is that a freedom?
I’m curious to see how many women actually cast ballots in the next Saudi election, because I don’t think it will be very many.
All this shows is that King Abdullah and the Saudi Arabian establishment are scared.
They are far from stupid. They see what’s been going on in Egypt, Libya, Syria and Bahrain. The Arab Spring would be the end of Saudi Arabia as we know it.
Having said that, the United States will never openly support a Saudi regime change — not unless we are sure the rebels would win. We learned our lesson in 1970s after aiding Israel despite a threat from Saudi Arabia to cut oil production that resulted in a gas crisis and recession.
As long as Saudi Arabia’s rich, ruling aristocracy can remain in power and in control of the black gold, I can guarantee we won’t supply their rebels with weapons. This isn’t Libya, for Allah’s sake.
King Abdullah and the Saudi elite are afraid of losing control. That’s why they have done everything they can to keep the masses happy and at bay. Afraid of the women? Let them vote — or at least try to.
If King Abdullah and his family want to retain their royalty, they’ll do what the British monarchy did — slowly but surely give more power back to the people. That way, they stay alive, they stay rich and they become a national beloved figurehead instead of ending up like the monarchs in France and the Romanovs in Russia.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Will the Arab Spring spread to Saudi Arabia? And if so, will it succeed? As of now, it’s looking like the answer is no.
While this slight progression towards democracy in Saudi Arabia should be rejoiced, my advice is to remain skeptical. It’s not like King Abdullah watched just enough Lifetime Channel to have a change of heart. He has ulterior motives.
Deterring the Arab Spring is the King’s top priority and he will continue to provide his people with illusions of freedom in order to accomplish this goal.
Parker Cramer is a 20-year-old political science junior from Houston, Texas. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_pcramer.
 
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Contact Parker Cramer at [email protected]