WASHINGTON — At conference Monday, cautious optimism was the response to the surprising announcement by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah that women would be given the right to vote in the next election in four years. At that time, they would be able to run for local office and serve in the Shura Council, the consultative council selected by the king.
Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson said while the king’s address was good news, other actions still are needed.
“We see that there are women in Saudi Arabia that are taking steps in order to claim their rights but also not only to make this about societal developments but also to talk about the economic rational,” she said. “To make women to start to participate on the labor market. To be part of innovations, ideas and developing their society.”
Swedish Minister For International Development Cooperation Response to Women’s Right to Vote in Saudi Arabia from Medill Washington on Vimeo.
Other speakers at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace conference on “Economic Growth, Gender, and Development in the Context of Arab Political Change: A Swedish Perspective,” saw the announcement as a cautious first step toward equal rights for women in Saudi Arabia.
Thomas Carothers, vice president for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment, said King Abdullah was careful of what words he used when describing Saudi women’s new rights in the next election.
“He’s being very cautious. In a way this is a big announcement but at the same time kind of a trial balloon,” he said. “He wants to see the reaction from the religious establishment, the rest of society and so there’s a certain amount of vagueness.”
Specifically, King Abdullah used the word “nominate” rather than “vote” when describing women’s new role in the country’s voting system. However, female participation in nomination qualifies as voting under the Saudi Arabian system.
For Carlsson, the opportunities go far beyond the Saudi kingdom: “A whole world is only half a world away. Now more than ever, the equal participation of all humanity, men and women in all of our affairs is required. The representatives of government, civil society and enterprise, we have the solid obligation and a unique opportunity to make gender equality a reality.”