Hassan Ammar / AP Photo
Many Saudi women do not seem too excited about their new voting rights. One said, “I don’t think that voting in a process where we can’t effect change is a big deal at all. It sounds a lot more glamorous than it is, because at the end of the day even our men aren’t bothered with these councils or their elections. I read somewhere that only a fifth of registered voters bothered showing up, so this is all a bit of a show with no real substance at all.” Many women feel the ban on women driving is a more important issue, and they believe that the king should work harder to help them achieve this right. One woman commented, “What I feel is that like with King Faisal, who had the guts to introduce girls’ education in spite of the objections and disapproval of the same people who now object to women driving, our king must do the same.”