The Gulf monarchs dislike the Arab awakening but are having to react to it

I'm not sure about that, I suspect a lot of these changes are coming from a position of fear. Giving women the "right" to vote, (only in 4 years time mind you), is a neat little sidestep in a pacifying direction that shows an intent to maybe consider thinking about reform. Who's to say what happens in the next 4 years, what has been granted can be taken away just as easily. Over and above all that, how much actual change will a voting process change? Do you think we'll see candidates stumping throughout Saudi with promises to allow women to drive?

I think the only time reform will actually happen is when it absolutely needs too, and that time will arrive at the end of viable oil. As mentioned in the article, Oman is probably the closest to a recognizable democracy of all the Gulf states and, unsurprisingly, it is beginning its downward curve of oil productivity, (well, its working a lot harder and spending a more to maintain productivity is a better way of putting it I think). It's also working very hard to improve the education and skills of the local population and enhance local employment in the private sector.

I must, however, add that the Omani Sultan is a rare visionary who truly wants to reform but realizes that cultural changes of this magnitude take time. 50 years ago Oman was a bit like Yemen today I would imagine.

When Saudi starts showing similar signs of development and foresight, true reform is a possibility. While they have the capability to pump out anywhere between 8-12 million barrels of oil per day, there is little need to do much.

These political changes in Saudi Arabia are more than just attempting to appease the people to prevent another Arab spring revolution. Abdullah has been making changes in the past few years to steer the country away from authoritarianism, such as the Allegiance Coucil, which will guarantee the country's strength after his death. Saudi Arabia has had strong relations with the West for decades, and plays a promient role in setting the OPEC oil pricing internationally. By increasing women's rights, Abdullah will help the country develop more in the Middle East by drawing it closer to Western cultures and economies. Since there is massive political instability in neighboring countries, improving relations with Europe and the United States is the best approach to strengthen as a nation.

These changes are clearly just for show and to make Saudi Arabia look good in the upcoming UN meeting. Women probably will not vote even though they are allowed to simply because they are so used to not being viewed equally. If Abdullah really wanted to make forward changes he should have just let women drive as well as vote. It was made clear that women would be prosecuted if they were to drive to cast their vote. Allowing women to vote really isn't giving them any freedom considering they can't even drive to cast their vote.

Wow. Can you imagine if we arrested people in America for hateful or offensive tweets? Our penitentiaries would be overflowing. The fact that Saudi Arabia is so harsh on Women makes me wonder why there isn't a huge American presence of feminists over there fighting for their rights. I guess we don't like to stick our noses in other countries screwed up governments unless it will seriously benefit us.

The changes in being made in Saudi Arabia are positive, however, they are not enough. Saudi Arabia is the Middle Eastern country that is the most western and if they want to keep becoming more like the western world then more drastic changes need to made. Not allowing women to drive just keeps them stuck in the ways of the past plus many other laws they still enforce there that are not in line with the modern world.

Saudi Arabia didn't want to give anyone a reason to protest or be unhappy, they wanted to get ahead of the Arab Spring. It is ironic though that on the same day they passed the law allowing women to vote and run for office, the government also said they would prosecute any woman attempting to drive there to vote.

The Saudi government is very rich from oil, they have a rich society. I think the government really does care about its people.

All these decisions being made regarding more freedom and democracy are being made in the fear of uprisings and not because these leaders actually want change. Abdullah for example isn't actually changing his views, but he thinks that allowing women to vote will help keep civil unrest down (which it probably will). Women can't drive? Yeah, that's just part of the culture they live in; women aren't viewed as equals. As far as democracy in the other countries mentioned, these leaders are just trying to appease the people...for now, they're not going to actually give up any real power (would you?).

Giving women the right to vote is really an empty gesture to discourage unrest and convince the western world that Saudi Arabia -- what good does the "right to vote" do if it can only be exercised by those selected every four years? If King Abdullah sincerely wants to make forward changes he will grant allow all citizens to vote and for god's sake, let the women drive. However, the Saudi's are worlds ahead of Bahrain, which is just a recipe for disaster. If history has shown anything it's that when a minority ethnic group is controlling the majority ethnic group nothing can go wrong, right? If Bahrain doesn't act to mend ethnic rifts soon it could be facing revolution.

It is great that women in Saudi Arabia have the right to vote. However, it does seem very backwards that they still cannot drive. It is great that their leader is able to look around and see uprising in other countries and realize that he needs to do something to keep that from happening in his own country. That shows traits of a good leader, learning from others.

Allowing women the right to vote, is just allowing the tension in these countries to settle down for a while. Since they are not even allowed to vote for another four years, the government thinks they have pleased them with the simple fact of knowing they can vote in the future. Abdullah is trying to make Saudi Arabia more appealing to other countries in order to interact and become more westernized. These other surrounding countries must try to improve their state in order to help this region out as a whole.

I can't decide if this is for real? Whose to say that in 4 years when the election is happening, that women will still have this right in Saudi Arabia. I hope so, but so much can change from now to then. What if this is ONLY a result of all the Arab spring revolutions around them? Having better equality between men and women may spark other changes. Western influence has been knocking at the door and would only help build a stronger and better government for those people, not to mention better trade of goods and information. Overall, it is unstable...the government, the country, the people. Bring back some stability and bringing in some change seem like a great move!

I think this is necessary. I commend Abdullah and think he made the right decision. Of course it will take some time for everything to flesh out, but he definitely took a major step with this decision.

It's terrible to see all of the harsh penalties and punishments that go along with change wherever you look in this world. However change is imminent and granting women the right to vote may prove to be a strong move once all of the protests wear off or a bad thing, if violence continues and this new proposition doesn't sink into the system. I hope for the best for Saudi Arabia and this situation as allowing women to do so (vote) may come back to benefit the country as a whole in terms of new direction and leadership below King Abdullah.

The only reason King Abdullah made such a dramatic change by giving women the right to vote, was so that people in Saudi Arabia don't revolt against him. With revolutions nearby showing success, he needed to do something to delay/prevent people from doing the same thing.

I'm sure Saudi Arabia didnt WANT to give women the right to vote, but they are very smart to pass this. Keeping their people happy and preventing an Arab Spring is their main focus. Is women having the right to drive next? I'm sure they will continue to make changes as necessary.

I think it was a great idea that they can vote. Women have just as much say in todays world as men. I believe that people need to wake up and realize that. I'm glad that Saudi Arabia believes that it is only fair for women to vote too. However, it doesn't quite make sense that they still can't drive though. Voting every 4 or so years doesn't give ultimate power to the women. They can not even drive to vote. A man has to drive them. That isn't freedom.

King Abdullah passed the new law at a timely juncture in Arab events. On the curb of an Arab srping, Abdullah does not want that for his country and though there was no pressing reason for him to pass the law when he did, he did so to keep his people happy.
However, as the article states, backwards events such as the Sharia court ruling and happenings in Bahrain, muddy the clear path Abdullah has worked so hard to forge. For a non-existent Arab spring, the leaders of Arab countries will have to come together and agree on a way to progress.

Giving the women the right to vote in Saudi Arabia is a progressive change, but given that, for example, women are still not allowed to drive there, shows that this may just be a form of appeasement. However, Saudi Arabia is currently prospering as a nation and therefore should avoid any Arab spring revolutions.

Hey now, small steps are always how things get done. Abdullah can't go and take away the right to vote now that he has granted it. Obviously there is no real shift in government power, or in the view of women, or in the hope for a real democracy for that matter. Nonetheless, the reactions to these small steps are going to get the ball rolling and draw more attention to these matters. Any small step is a step in the right direction... if you like democracy.

Yes Saudi Arabia gave women the right to vote. However, this was not because of equality or for the good of women, it was for Saudi Arabia. They only gave women this power so that they would look good for the upcoming UN meeting. It wasn't a coincidence that this event happened right around the time of the upcoming meeting. This is proven two days later after a judge in the port of Jeddah issued his own verdict on women’s rights, sentencing a 19-year-old woman to ten lashes for the sin of driving a car. Saudi Arabia does not want women to have freedom or else they would let them drive cars too. The title of this article is "Lets take it slowly, " but this a little too slow. Women need to have equal rights.