Saudi Arabia has not been immune to the demands for change sweeping the Arab world. On September 25, 2011, King Abdullah announced that within the next few years women would be appointed to the Consultative Council and be allowed to vote and run for the municipal councils. But is this a significant advancement for Saudi women’s rights, or just another instance of the kingdom’s “two steps forward, one step back” reform policy?

Full Text: “Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Women’s Suffrage in Saudi Arabia,” BESA Perspectives, No. 150, October 9, 2011.