It’s
hard to go negative on such a positive and long overdue reform, but
that seems to be precisely the point, as Saudi Arabia times its
lifting of ban on women driving to drown a critical UN vote and
ongoing financial and diplomatic woes in flood of glowing media
coverage.
by
Whitney Webb
On Tuesday,
international corporate media outlets were abuzz with the news that
the hyper-conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia had finally lifted its
ban on women drivers. A royal decree credited to King Salman was
responsible for the sudden change in policy, which Prince Khaled bin
Salman, the king’s son and the country’s ambassador to the U.S.,
called a “huge step forward.” Prior to Tuesday’s decree, Saudi
Arabia was the only country in the world to have such a ban, which
was often cited by critics of the regime’s human rights record.
Much of the
coverage regarding the decision spoke positively of the kingdom’s
human rights trajectory, asserting that “women’s rights have
steadily and slowly gained ground over the years” in the kingdom
and that the move was “a significant expansion of women’s
rights.” The U.S. State Department and White House also spoke of
the policy change in glowing terms and commended Saudi leaders for
their decision. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert declined
to comment on whether the Saudi kingdom needed to do more to ensure
full rights for women.
In their
glowing coverage, many media outlets failed to highlight that the
policy change would not take immediate effect. While these outlets
implied that the change would be immediate, the Saudi decree actually
called for the formation of a committee that would offer
recommendations within the next 30 days regarding how to potentially
implement the offering of drivers licenses to women. Although the
schedule may vary depending upon the recommendations of the
committee, women are not expected to be able to obtain licenses until
June of 2018. As policy analyst Yousef Munayyer noted, this is “far
from letting women drive.”
It also
remains to be seen what hurdles may be added to the granting of
drivers licenses to women. For example, the committee could decide
that women cannot drive alone — as women in Saudi Arabia must often
be accompanied by a male relative in public, in keeping with the
country’s “guardianship laws.” It could also choose to restrict
licenses to women of certain socio-economic status, or restrict the
licenses’ use to specific purposes. In other words, until the
committee makes public its recommendations, it will be hard to know
if Saudi Arabia actually lifted its blanket ban on women drivers.
Prince
Salman told reporters that such limitations would not come to pass.
However, his assurances were not included in the decree and his words
lack the authority that has been wholly delegated to the committee.
Why
suddenly “the right time”?
When Khaled
bin Salman told reporters on Tuesday, regarding the recent decree,
“this is the right time to do the right thing,” he certainly
wasn’t kidding. Indeed, the timing of the decree could not have
been more convenient for the Saudi kingdom, though the Saudi royal
family made no mention of why it really was the “right time” to
end its ban on women drivers.
Between now
and this Friday, when the United Nation’s Human Rights Council
concludes its ongoing session, the international body will vote on a
resolution to decide whether or not to establish an independent,
international probe into war crimes committed in Yemen.
The United
Nations rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has consistently pushed
the Human Rights Council to create an independent investigation into
the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen, which began in March 2015.
Since then, over ten thousand civilians have been killed and the
Saudi’s blockade of Yemeni ports and its bombing of civilian
infrastructure have led to 17 million Yemenis lacking access to clean
water and food, as well as to the worst cholera epidemic in history.
The Saudi
regime is clearly uncomfortable with the resolution. They have vowed
to “not accept” the findings of the probe, were the resolution to
pass, and have also threatened any nation that votes in favor of the
probe with economic and political retaliation. Yet, now, with the
international media fawning over the Saudi government’s human
rights “progress,” international pressure against the kingdom may
be reduced as its role in the destruction of Yemen again fades into
the background.
Reform as
misdirection: MBS puts on his makeup
However, the
upcoming UN vote was not the only factor in prompting the
headline-grabbing policy reversal. International media outlets,
though they stated that the decree was signed by King Salman,
consistently noted that the reform was the work of the newly-minted
Saudi crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, often referred to by the
acronym MBS.
The coverage
of MBS’ role in bringing about the reform – as well as his role
in Saudi politics – was overwhelmingly positive. For instance, CNN
stated that the lifting of the driving ban was “just the latest in
a series of changes that have been rippling through Saudi Arabia
since the rise of [the] 32-year-old crown prince.”
Other
outlets, such as Forbes, also credited MBS with the decree as part of
his “ambitious” plan to overhaul the Saudi economy by 2030,
noting that the decree would ostensibly allow more women to join the
workforce. The Associated Press further credited MBS for having
“opened the country to more entertainment and fun.”
None of
these outlets mentioned the rise of domestic dissent in Saudi Arabia,
its ethnic cleansing of minorities within its borders, or its major
economic woes – all of which have also occurred alongside MBS’
rise to power.
Given King
Salman’s ailing health and all but confirmed senility, MBS has been
calling the shots in the Saudi kingdom since he ousted the former
crown prince in what some spectators likened to an internal coup. He
is expected to replace his father any month now, as the corporate
media has noted, meaning that he is eager to improve how he is
perceived abroad and cultivate his image as a “reformer.”
However, MBS
is hardly the reformer he purports to be. In fact, his past actions
show him to be a dangerous warhawk prone to impulsivity and rash
judgements. Prior to becoming crown prince, he was the nation’s
defense minister and was largely responsible for the Saudi war in
Yemen, which has drained the country’s finances, as well as for the
collapse in diplomatic relations with neighboring Qatar.
He has also
pushed for war with Iran. MBS has argued, for example, that
diplomatic dialogue with Iran was “impossible” and even hinted at
a Saudi pre-emptive strike against Iran, stating that “We won’t
wait for the battle to be in Saudi Arabia. Instead, we’ll work so
that the battle is for them in Iran.” Furthermore, according to
other members of the Saudi royal family, MBS was allowed to ascend to
the position of crown prince after accepting conditions that included
“absolute obedience to the U.S. and Israel and carrying out
whatever they ask him to do.”
Thus, the
sudden lifting of the ban on women drivers in Saudi Arabia is likely
part of a larger public relations campaign, a “dramatic” but
fundamentally cosmetic gesture meant to hide the more displeasing
facets of MBS’ political record as he prepares to become king.
Annually, the Saudis spend millions on public relations efforts,
particularly in the West, as their greatest allies are the United
States and the United Kingdom.
Clearly,
Prince bin Salman would much rather be viewed by the international
community as the Saudi leader who championed women’s rights as
opposed to the Saudi leader who started – and continues – the
country’s genocidal and disastrous war against its southern
neighbor, Yemen.
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