Opinion Breaching the Gulf

For others,September 24 was not just another Saturday. The day was momentous. The number of voters were pushed up from 7,000 to 1,30,000. It didn’t matter that the FNC had no real law-making power. What mattered was that the prime minister of the UAE,Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum,had called upon women to play a greater role in these elections. Even so,the turnout of women was disappointingly low.

Anyone from the UAE will tell you that there is no spring in the country. Polling day was hot at 45-degree Celsius. But away from salons and shops,thousands gathered across the Emirates to cast their votes. Mohammed Jassim arrived early in the morning to exercise his franchise. He was buoyant. “It’s our spring,” he said,“Dubai’s Arab Spring.”

As the Arab Spring sends shock waves across the Middle East,as countries continue to clamour for greater freedoms,the UAE has been devoid of street protests. But there are undercurrents of discontent. Five bloggers were arrested in April after they had called for greater political and social freedom. One of them,Ahmed Mansur,wanted all the members of the FNC to be elected. He was picked up from his home late in the night and thrown into jail. His blog was pulled down soon after.

Dubai is just one emirate that makes up the UAE. An hour’s drive from the megacity is the crumbly emirate of Ras al-Khaimah. Its buildings look nothing like those in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. There are no buildings scraping the sky; instead they are old and dilapidated.

The citizens of Ras al-Khaimah had made noises when thousands roared in Tahrir Square. The government then promised reconstruction,and 10 million dirhams were set aside for the struggling emirate. In Ras al-Khaimah,Mohammed A. voted for the first time. He wanted change and praised the government for increasing the pool of voters. He was hopeful that this was a step in the right direction. His son,fresh out of college and facing limited employment opportunities,however,said the vote was “too little,too late”.

On September 29,another Arab country will go to the polls. The citizens of Saudi Arabia,home to the two holy mosques,will elect members of the Municipal Council. No women will be at the ballot box in this ultraconservative kingdom. However,at the Shura Council a few days ago,King Abdullah announced that women would not only be able to vote but also contest — in the next election in 2015.

King Abdullah has been looked upon as a reformist,but change has been coming at a snail’s pace in Saudi Arabia,since he has had to pacify both the powerful clerics and the conservatives within the royal family.

This emancipation comes after the Arab Spring knocked on the kingdom’s doors. Online activists had called for all members of the Shura Council to be elected. Inviting much international attention,Saudi women too took to the streets. They did not march for freedom; they took to the wheel.

After the fall of Tunisia and Egypt and as Bahrain brutally silenced its protestors,female activists in Saudi Arabia launched a campaign on social networking sites,demanding the right to vote and drive. Spearheaded by one Maha al-Qahtani,women brought to attention the archaic system they live in. Saudi women continue to live under the Guardianship Law,which bars them from public participation without the consent of a male member of their immediate family. There is no change on that front yet.

But change is coming — to both Saudi Arabia and the UAE. “It is because of our Arab brothers,who have fought and who continue to fight in this Spring,that we have been granted the right to vote,” said Khulood Q. For her,the proudest moment was the election of a woman to the FNC — Sheikha al-Ari,from Umm al Quwain.

For too long,women have been marginalised in parts of Arabia. But as the Arab Spring turns ugly in Yemen,with mounting deaths,the news from Saudi Arabia and the UAE is reminiscent of the Tahrir Square days,when Spring was how it ought to be — fresh and uplifting.