ACHIEVEMENTS OF

SAUDI WOMEN

2006

Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission to the U.S.A2600 Virginia Ave., N.W., Suite 800

Washington, D.C. 20037Tel: (202) 337-9450 • Fax: (202) 337-2978

Website: www.sacm.org

Saudi male and female students in Saudi universitiesaccording to their field of study for the year 2003

Comparison between Saudi female and malestudents in U.S. universities for the year 2003

Saudi Arabia has long recognized that the develop-ment of human resources is a key element in a nation’smarch to progress. The educational institutions it hasestablished have produced many young professionals,both male and female, who are filling positions in thework force in a wide range of fields. As a principal aim

SAUDI WOMEN’S SOCIOECONOMICROLE IN SAUDI SOCIETY

Female legislators, senior officials, and managersaccording to the World Bank Group Report (2005)

of the development strategy of the Kingdom, women inSaudi Arabia vigorously pursue higher education andprofessional careers. They seek to become active mem-bers of society where their roles are defined in terms ofwhat they can offer toward their country’s economic,social and cultural development.

Furthermore, many women as non-professionals workas volunteers in various social, educational, cultural andhealth organizations. Philanthropic organizations such asAl-Nahda and Al-Faisaliya flourish all over the Kingdom.They specialize in adult literacy and provide proper carefor orphans and the handicapped.

Aside from economic factors, many Saudi womenwant to make use of their university degrees. Thus, thenumber of workingwomen is increasing rap-idly. In the public sectorthey are university profes-sors, mathematicians, sci-entists, teachers, adminis-trators, nurses, doctors,media personnel andsocial workers. In the pri-vate sector, women workin agriculture, banking,trade, real estate, interior design, pharmacology, biologyand biochemistry. They own and manage boutiques,restaurants, beauty salons, tailoring establishments andeven construction companies, car dealerships and facto-ries.

When it comes to business activity, there is no dis-tinction between genders. Areas of business operationsare open to both, and both enjoy the same facilities andservices provided by the Saudi Council of Chambers ofCommerce and Industry.

Debate over the type and extent of participationwomen can enjoy the Kingdom’s development still con-tinues, but at no time are they denied access to eithereducation or an ever widening range of jobs.

Saudi women have never challenged the tenets oftraditional Islamic values, these values to which they

Saudi female dentist at her office

naturally want to adhere to. On the contrary, it is theserules that they want to follow. Traditional Islamic dressis not an issue. Saudi women themselves do not sub-scribe to the idea that somehow they could pursue amore active role in society by abandoning Islamic dresscode. What is important to these women is not whatthey wear, but the continued development of theirminds, the acquisition of useful skills, and their contri-butions to their country.

Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaMinistry of Higher Education

Saudi Arabian Cultural MissionWashington, DC

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The position of women in Islamic societies in gener-al, and in the Saudi Arabian society in particular, is acomplex and frequently misunderstood issue. It is cer-tainly true that Muslim and Western views of the role ofwomen reveal sharp cultural differences; but the stereo-type of Muslim women as uneducated individuals whohave no rights and no opportunities is a misconceptionborn of ignorance.

It is nevertheless true that under Islam a woman isexpected to behave modestly in public and that, as inthe West until recently, she is generally expected to befully committed to her family and home, a home with-in which, incidentally, she enjoys a preeminent role.Such expectations are rather different from those nowwidely required of women in the West. The stability offamily life and the security of women in Islamic societydiffer markedly from the conditions which women nowface in Western society.

This said, it would be a mistake to think that the roleof women in Saudi society is confined to homemaking.The development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hasbrought with it increasing opportunities for women ineducation, employment, art and culture, and free enter-prise. The following statistics provide a glimpse ofachievements of Saudi women in these fields.

Saudi male and female literacy for the year 2003

COMPARISON BETWEEN SAUDI

FEMALE AND MALE EDUCATION

Saudi male and female bachelor degree students in Saudi universities for the year 2003

Saudi male and female Ph.D. degree studentsin Saudi universities for the year 2003

Saudi male and female faculty andadministrators with a bachelor’s degreein Saudi universities for the year 2003

Saudi male and female faculty andadministrators with a master’s degreein Saudi universities for the year 2003

Saudi male and female faculty andadministrators with a Ph.D. degree

in Saudi universities for the year 2003

Saudi male and female master’s degree studentsin Saudi universities for the year 2003

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