Cairo: Saudi women will soon be appointed as judges, according to a senior official, as the country is vigorously seeking to empower women.
“What I can say is that a Saudi woman assuming the position of judge is very soon ,” Hend Al Zahid, the undersecretary for women’s empowerment at the Saudi Ministry of Human resources told Al Arabiya television.
Over 2,000 women have been appointed at all job levels, including leading posts, at the Saudi Justice Ministry in three years, the official added.
She singled out the ministries of health and education as the ones with the highest numbers of female workers compared to other ministries in the kingdom.
Saudi women, Al Zahid said, make up 25 per cent of holders of the private sector’s leading posts, and their engagement in labour market has reached 31 per cent.
“This is a very big progress. As for the civil service sectors, the Saudi women’s participation rate has increased from 39 per cent to 41 per cent, and most of them are in the education and health sectors,” she said.
Boosting women’s empowerment
The Saudi government is serious about boosting women’s empowerment, she said. “Neutral international indexes have reflected the scale of Saudi Arabia’s progress in women’s empowerment at all levels,” she added.
In 2018, the kingdom allowed women to drive for the first time in its history, ending a decades-old ban on female driving. In another move enhancing women’s empowerment, Saudi authorities have allowed women to travel without a male guard’s approval and to apply for a passport, easing long-time controls on them.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia appointed Princess Reema bint Bandar as its first female ambassador to the US.
