Can vote, why can't drive?

Women in Saudi Arabia may now vote, as declared by King Abdullah last Sunday. This would be for the first time in the history of Saudi Arabia that women have the right to vote and run in local election due in 2015. For the women, it is a remarkable stepping stone in line with the Arab Spring - a rebellion wave of protests in the Arab world since last April. For the rest of the world, it is a victory in the field of gender and development for women to be on an equal footing with men.

While the news still heats up, the first reaction of many people is whether Saudi Arabia women can now drive. Many argued that voting is not enough if women are still prohibited from driving. The news is therefore becoming debatable: why granting women the right to vote, but not the right to drive? Women's rights is always a controversial issue in the Muslim world. However, it was argued that the issue was not being viewed from within, but rather influenced by Western perspective. For example, veiling is negatively viewed by Western as violating women's rights while many Muslim women are proud of wearing it as part of their culture and tradition.

Back to the voting issue, the declaration might be a manipulating action in response to the heating protests and international pressure on women's rights in Saudi Arabia. In the field of gender and development, we talk about practical gender needs (PGN) versus strategic gender needs (SGN); if voting right lies within SGN, is driving right as PGN just a matter of time to be met?

So, you can vote but remember I still have to drive you to polling station is exactly reflective of the nature of the issue.