The Saudi Arabian king announced that women will be given the right to vote in future elections. Women will also be appointed to an advisory group that is selected by the monarch. These reforms will start with the next term in 2015. Change in the country has come slowly, though the king is known to be a reformer. Women still cannot drive cars. They cannot get medical care without permission from a male guardian. The sexes are segregated in public places. Some are concerned that the reforms may not come to pass, as they could be discarded if the king, now eighty-seven, passes away. The United States issued a statement supporting the king's reforms.