Alwaght- For the first time in history, women in Saudi Arabia have cast their ballots. This is the main headline that has swamped the media in light of Saudi’s municipal elections with attempts to show the event as a first step toward women’s freedoms in the Persian-Gulf State.

Tight Rope

Far from that, however, these elections are a sham, a deluding decoy to make the world and Saudis think that Riyadh is beginning to loosen the rope it has had tightened around women’s rights for so long.

While women were also standing as candidates, they faced many restrictions because of gender discrimination in the kingdom. For example, female candidates have had to speak behind a partition while campaigning or be represented by a man, which only exhibits the country’s inability to allow women to speak their minds or stand independently.

About 130,000 women registered to vote, a figure that doesn’t compare to the 1.35 million male voters. Four women secured seats in the municipality council, which has little power.

But behind all the media buzz, the fact remains that women in Saudi Arabia, are oppressed. The mere idea that women had to be driven to cast their votes is an act of hypocrisy. Many believe that before being granted the right to vote in meaningless elections, women must be given the right to sit behind the wheel, at least to drive themselves to the voting station; and before steering their political careers toward insignificant positions that do not have the ability to make the drastic changes needed in the country, perhaps women should be given the right to steer their own lives.

An illusion

But then again, asking for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia may be asking for too much. In a country where human rights are constantly violated and democracy is an illusion, demanding women’s rights specifically may be too ideal.

Relatively, it didn’t take Riyadh too long to consider involving women in the elections. Last week’s election, was the third in its history. Therefore, the concept of historic women’s voting is disputable because the kingdom’s history of elections is barely a decade old. In addition, being an absolute monarchy where the king, who inherits his seat makes all the shots, also contributes to the futility of elections which seem to be only in effect to mislead the Saudi public into believing that their voices matter to authorities.

A 2015 Human Rights Watch report summarized the human rights situation in the kingdom stating: “Saudi Arabia continued in 2014 to try, convict, and imprison political dissidents and human rights activists solely on account of their peaceful activities. Systematic discrimination against women and religious minorities continued. Authorities failed to enact systematic measures to protect the rights of 9 million foreign workers. As in past years, authorities subjected hundreds of people to unfair trials and arbitrary detention. New anti-terrorism regulations that took effect in 2014 can be used to criminalize almost any form of peaceful criticism of the authorities as terrorism.”

In light of the continuing human rights violations in the Saudi kingdom, the idea of the regime opening up to women’s rights is ludicrous. That’s why many believe the elections move was taken to hush criticism and give the illusion that it is on the way to change. While some have acknowledged that the event was only a baby step in a thousand-mile-walk, others are confident that there is no path to walk on in the first place because of the deep-rooted and institutionalized mentality of discrimination against women.

Women, are hopeful, however, that one day they will be able to raise their voices, no matter how unheard they may be today. For the time being, though, Saudi Arabia can’t handle its record of human right let alone be ready to improve the status of women’s rights in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

By Alwaght