Women's Rights in the Kingdom

Women's Rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia refer to all the rights guaranteed by the Kingdom to women to protect them, acknowledge their particularity, and provide a safe environment that facilitates the realization of their aspirations and enables their participation. This is crucial given women’s effective role in society, alongside men.

Women's rights fall within the human rights defined by the United Nations as inherent rights of all human beings, regardless of their gender, nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, or language. These rights are interdependent and indivisible, and everyone has the right to them without discrimination. Universal support for women's rights began with the declaration of the international framework in the Charter of the United Nations. In the first year of the founding of the United Nations, the Commission on the Status of Women was formed by the Economic and Social Council as a major intergovernmental body exclusively devoted to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. Special days have been established to celebrate women's rights around the world, including: International Women's Day, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, International Day of Women and Girls in Science, International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, International Widows' Day, International Day of the Girl Child, and International Day of Rural Women.

The Kingdom has enacted a series of laws in various areas that safeguard Saudi women's rights, including, inter alia:

Specifying the age of marriage, whereby the Kingdom unequivocally prohibits the marriage of underage girls below fifteen years of age, and has referred marriage contracts of girls under eighteen to the competent courts.

Allowing women to drive vehicles and issue driver's licenses.

In view of the Kingdom’s commitment to empowering women in society, women have been granted the right to education since 1941, and the General Presidency of Girls' Education (GPGE) was later founded in 1959. It established schools, leading to a steady increase in their numbers, and Saudi women were able to enroll in universities. Eventually, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University was inaugurated in 2008 – a women's university ranked among the best in the world. Furthermore, the Kingdom's regulations guarantee free education without discrimination to all its citizens at all stages of education.

The educational system in the Kingdom is based on equality between men and women in all its aspects, starting with the mechanisms of admission, registration, curricula, assessment, or the recruitment of qualified teachers, and extends to the provision of school facilities and equipment in all their forms. The Ministry of Education has also initiated several educational and development programs aimed at enhancing the working environment for women in the field of education. These include initiatives to bolster professional and educational practices among female teachers as part of the National Program for Education Development. Additionally, measures are being taken to ensure the organization of lectures, seminars, and workshops tailored for female teachers across all provinces and governorates of the Kingdom. Based on the Ministry of Education’s firm belief in women's leadership roles, the ministry commissioned an official spokeswoman, marking a precedent among ministries in the Kingdom.

The Kingdom’s Ministry of Education also devoted special attention to women by establishing dedicated university cities, in addition to coeducational universities. Saudi women's university cities include Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, and King Saud University.

The Kingdom has placed particular emphasis on continuing education programs to support development plans and reduce illiteracy rates among women. These efforts are exemplified by the implementation of compulsory education, the establishment of a governmental department for adult education responsible for creating adult education plans and programs, the expansion of distributing general education schools in remote villages and hamlets, and the opening of literacy centers in women's detention centers, girls' reformatories, nursing homes, charities, and Holy Quran memorization associations. Programs supporting this endeavor include the Society without Illiteracy and the Caravans of Light projects. The latter project utilizes technology in instruction by deploying mobile classes equipped with state-of-the-art technological tools to reach remote villages and hamlets, aiming to reduce and eliminate illiteracy among rural women. Additionally, the Ministry of Education, on behalf of the Kingdom, is conducting awareness-raising summer campaigns that promote continuing education by offering financial incentives, providing essential supplies, and facilitating transportation.

Two women testing a plane at OxfordSaudia Flight Academy (OxfordSaudia Flight Academy Media Center)

The Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom has endeavored to enable Saudi women to contribute to the areas of judiciary and law. The Kingdom has worked to increase the number of female Saudi lawyers and to facilitate their functions by raising the number of licenses granted to them, enrolling them in specialized training programs, and offering a range of services to male and female lawyers alike via the Najiz portal. These services include: (Application for a law practitioner’s license - Request for renewal of a law practitioner’s license - Request for updating a law practitioner’s data - Trainee (lawyer’s practice) - Inquiries about practicing lawyers - Request for a training certificate - Request for a trainee transfer from one lawyer’s office to another - Request for a license of a regular proxy). The Ministry of Justice has also allowed women to register as conciliators at the Conciliation Center, enabling them to work on reconciling disputes between the parties.

Among the most prominent regulations introduced by the Kingdom to safeguard and protect women's rights are:

If there is no person other than an accused woman in the dwelling to be searched, the officers carrying out the search shall be accompanied by a woman.

The women inside the dwelling shall be given time to put on their veils or leave the dwelling and shall be afforded all reasonable assistance.

A woman's executive incarceration cannot be carried out if she is pregnant or has a child under two years of age.

The regulations guarantee women's rights to inheritance and succession, especially real estate.

A woman's silence about her right to inherit does not mean that her right to inheritance will be forfeited if she asks for it.

The Family Courts consider marriage requests for those who do not have a guardian, and for those who have guardians, but whose guardians prevent them from getting married.

The regulations prohibit preventing a woman from marriage (Tahjeer) or compel her to marry anyone who she does not want to marry.

The waiting period (Iddah) for a woman whose marriage contract was annulled begins from the date of passing the ruling, not from the date of ratification by the Appellate Court.

Court rulings pertaining to child custody and personal status are forcibly enforced, even if it necessitates the involvement of law enforcement (the police).

If the defendant is absent in cases relating to marital matters or matters of custody, alimony, visitation, or prevention of a woman from marriage by her guardian, the court may order the defendant to be brought by force.

Penalties are imposed on anyone who fails to implement a court ruling on custody, guardianship, or visitation.

A court ruling ordering a woman to return to the matrimonial home cannot be forcibly enforced.

Expedited implementation of judgments issued in favor of women in some cases, such as alimony, nursing or housing fees, seeing a young child, or handing over the child to his guardian.

In matrimonial matters, custody, alimony, and preventing marriage, a woman has the right to file a lawsuit in the court where she lives, and the defendant is required to attend the court.

When registering her agency, it is not necessary to be for a related man (mahram).

In the event of the death or absence of their father, the mother assumes responsibility for caring for her young children. If guardians other than the mother, such as a brother or uncle, are to be appointed, the consent of the children's mother is required.

Issuing two copies of the marriage contract, one for the husband and the other for the wife, to preserve their respective rights and conditions therein.

The Ministry of Commerce has taken several steps to empower Saudi women, involving them in the economic advancement of the Kingdom, and making their presence a catalyst for sustainable development and the achievement of Saudi Vision 2030, which stipulates activating the roles of Saudi women in the national economy. Among the initiatives approved by the Ministry of Commerce to achieve this are:

Empowering Saudi women to start their own businesses, on a par with men, while repealing the requirement of a guardian's consent.

Establishing business centers for women that leverage modern technologies to streamline procedures and reduce time commitments for businesswomen, within a contemporary and advanced work environment.

Equality for Saudi women with men extends to all aspects of commercial activity, including opening commercial registers, requesting registration of trademarks, reserving trade names, practicing entrepreneurship, and registering commercial agencies.

Reception of female voters at an election center in Jeddah Governorate. (SPA)

The Kingdom’s Labor Law stipulates a series of legislation on women's employment, including:

In all occupations and places where women are employed, the employer must provide them with seats for resting.

A non-Muslim female worker whose husband passes away is entitled to a fully paid leave for a minimum period of fifteen days as of the date of death. The Labor Law also entitles a Muslim female worker whose husband dies to an ‘Iddah leave’ with full pay for a period of not less than 130 days, 'four months and ten days', starting from the date of death. If she is pregnant, such leave may be extended without pay until her delivery. She may not, following childbirth, use the remainder of the leave granted to her.

Working women are considered equal in terms of the unification of retirement age for both genders, prevention of gender discrimination regarding wages, types and fields of employment, as well as working hours, job search subsidies, and job placement training programs.

In addition, the Kingdom guarantees women a number of rights in the field of employment, including:

Female workers shall be entitled to fully paid maternity leave for a period of ten weeks to be divided at the female worker’s discretion. Such period may start four weeks prior to the expected date of delivery. The expected date of delivery shall be determined pursuant to a medical report certified by a health authority.

Female workers are entitled to one month of leave with full pay, commencing after the maternity leave ends. There is also the option for an extension of one month without pay. In the event of giving birth to a sick child or a child with special needs whose health condition requires a constant companion, a female worker shall be entitled to a one-month leave with full pay starting at the end of the maternity leave.

A woman may not, under any circumstances, work during the six weeks immediately following delivery. She is entitled to extend the leave for an additional month as unpaid leave.

When a female worker returns to work following a maternity leave, she is entitled to a rest period or periods not exceeding in aggregate one hour a day for nursing her infant. Such period or periods are calculated as part of the actual working hours and do not entail any reduction in wage.

An employer who employs over fifty female workers must provide them with a suitable place with an adequate number of babysitters to look after the female workers’ children under the age of six years, if the number of children reaches ten or more In addition, an employer who employs one hundred or more female workers in a single city must set up a nursery to care for the children of female workers under the age of six. The competent parties are responsible for the determination of the charges imposed on female workers who benefit from this service.

An employer must grant female workers a fully paid maternity leave for a period of ten weeks to be divided at the female worker’s discretion. Such period may start four weeks prior to the expected date of delivery. The expected date of delivery shall be determined pursuant to a medical report certified by a health authority. An employer may not, under any circumstances, get female workers to work during the six weeks immediately following delivery. She is entitled to extend the leave for an additional month as unpaid leave. In the event of giving birth to a sick child or a child with special needs whose health condition requires a constant companion, a female worker is entitled to a one-month leave with full pay starting at the end of the maternity leave, and she is entitled to extend the leave for an additional month as unpaid leave.

An employer must provide full medical care to female workers during pregnancy and childbirth.

One of the rights guaranteed by the Kingdom, represented by the Ministry of Health, to Saudi women is the unconditional right to medical and health care. Expatriate female workers residing in the Kingdom also share this right through the Cooperative Health Insurance Law and related laws. Furthermore, laws and regulations in the Kingdom require government hospitals to provide emergency health services to regardless of gender or residency status.

The competent authorities also offer a number of programs and mechanisms aimed at raising the standard of women's health, including, inter alia:

Early examination of women's health conditions, including: early detection of diabetes, hypertension, and osteoporosis, and provision of health awareness.

Providing periodic health education to prevent anemia and iron deficiency.

The launch of several programs including: the Advanced Pregnancy Program, the National Program to Support Breastfeeding, the Early Detection of Breast Cancer Program, and the Healthy Marriage Program. The latter provides services for detecting certain genetic and infectious diseases for couples preparing for marriage, such as: thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, hepatitis, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), anti-drug and psychostimulants programs, balanced health nutrition awareness programs, chronic disease prevention programs, cancer prevention and awareness programs, an epidemiological surveillance system, and anti-smoking programs with awareness campaigns about their consequences.

Providing services to pregnant women, including: assessment of the pregnancy condition, determination of the expected date of delivery; expected method of birth (natural, cesarean, auxiliary methods), asking the pregnant woman whether she agrees or not to delivery by C-section for which a guardian’s consent is not required, requiring oral consent of a pregnant woman before performing an incision on the perineum during childbirth when absolutely necessary, and after briefing her on the relevant information and options available, the presence of a male chaperone during childbirth, if permitted by conditions in the maternity room and his presence does not infringe on the privacy of others, receiving social, emotional, and physical support during labor and childbirth from caregivers; and preserving the dignity of women in labor in a safe and non-threatening environment.

Providing numerous specialized government and private centers for the treatment of infertility conditions for men or women.

Allowing abortion in the Kingdom for specific exceptions, such as pregnancies that pose a risk to the mother, physically or mentally, and when the fetus is less than 120 days old. In such cases, the mother is permitted to have an abortion after obtaining consent from two specialist doctors, and following a decision by a medical committee formed in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth by the Implementing Regulations of this law, provided the abortion is carried out in line with Sharia controls.

The option to agree to or refuse to sign a medical authorization for a surgical procedure on a woman aged eighteen and above without requiring her guardian's consent.

Among the rights guaranteed for women in the Kingdom are their rights in the civil service sector, as follows:

The right of gender equality in relation to access to civil documents and reporting of civil facts.

Women are not required to obtain consent from their guardians when receiving services or finalizing their own official procedures.

The Kingdom has been keen on strengthening the political roles of Saudi women. Hence, in 2013, it included them in the Shura Council for the first time, constituting approximately 20 percent. In 2015, the Kingdom involved women for the first time in municipal council elections, allowing them to participate both as candidates and voters. Additionally, the leadership program (Qiyadat) was established to empower Saudi women in leadership positions and create a suitable working environment for them.

Shura Council member Dr. Amal Bint Salamah al-Shaman

Women's rights in the Kingdom included accession to international treaties aimed at safeguarding women's rights. The Kingdom acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on August 28, 2000.

The Kingdom has launched several programs to empower Saudi women, including:

The (Tamheer) on-the-job training program is designed to develop and refine the skills of Saudi male and female graduates while equipping them with the necessary expertise and skills for the labor market. This is achieved through training in government institutions and top-performing companies in the private sector, facilitating their entry into the Saudi job market. Upon completion of any training track, program participants receive a certificate of training.

The (Wusool) program for transporting female workers provides suitable transportation means for female workers, offered at affordable rates. The program cuts transportation expenses by 80 percent, serving thirteen provinces within the Kingdom. It is affiliated with the Human Resources and Development Fund to support female workers, ensuring a secure transportation environment. This includes ensuring security and safety through service providers approved by the Ministry of Transport, who offer high-quality public taxi guidance services at reasonable costs.

The (Qurrah) childcare program for female workers specializes in the childcare sector in the Kingdom. It aims to create a communication bridge between children's daycare centers, offering their services, and marketing them to parents seeking to register their children at a daycare center. The program also aims to support women workers' access to the labor market and their continuation therein.

The Freelance Financing Program is a developmental financing initiative provided by the Social Development Bank, aimed at enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of male and female individuals seeking self-employment, increasing their productivity, and refining their skills and expertise across various fields. The financing offers three main tracks: Cash financing of up to SAR120,000; car financing of up to SAR300,000; and seasonal financing of up to SAR30,000.

The ‘Women’s Empowerment Ideathon’ Program aims to develop and enhance girls' personal success skills by providing them with information and trends that enhance their skill performance. The program offers various developmental projects to serve women in several areas, including financial services such as financing self-employment projects and small enterprises. Additionally, it provides non-financial services for male and female entrepreneurs in governorates and centers across the Kingdom's provinces, supporting them with training and legal advice.

The National Family Safety Program, established in 2005, is a national program aimed at safeguarding families from violence, particularly women and children. It aligns with the humanitarian goals of the Kingdom by fostering the development of national regulations to address domestic violence and fostering partnerships within communities alongside relevant authorities to address the dual objectives and enhance performance. The program supports specialized research and studies in the field of domestic violence, offering a comprehensive database and informational resources to interested individuals and institutions. Additionally, it offers a range of training programs tailored to professionals working with domestic violence issues across various fields, aiming to enhance their performance effectiveness and elevate the quality of services provided to victims of domestic violence. Moreover, the program endeavors to develop prevention and rehabilitation initiatives for victims, while also prioritizing efforts to raise community awareness about the detrimental impacts of domestic violence on society in the long term.

The Telework Program is one of the important national initiatives launched by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development aimed at bridging the gap between employers and job seekers. The program targets job seekers from all segments of society, including men, women, and persons with disabilities, by providing job opportunities that overcome obstacles such as lack of transportation means, inadequate workplace facilities, or commitments to care for children or older relatives during working hours.

The "Marin" (Flexible) Program aims to serve both employers and job seekers through a flexible contracting system. It allows for an hourly pay system without any trial period complications or preconditions, severance pay bonuses, or paid vacations, thereby guaranteeing fewer working hours with greater flexibility. Additionally, it ensures registration in social insurance, provision of sources of expertise, and multiple sources of income. The program is designed to reduce unemployment rates, support job localization, create job opportunities, empower women, increase the productivity of the private sector, and meet the needs of national cadres.

The Women’s Leadership Training and Mentorship Program aims to develop a comprehensive package of training and mentoring programs designed to enhance the skills of working women and increase their representation in leadership positions across two levels: women leaders category: this category encompasses women occupying leadership positions in senior management with the requisite competence for leadership, significant impact, and effective representation of Saudi women, as well as women managers category: This category includes women holding positions such as department or section heads in middle management levels.

The Kingdom supports the rights of divorced and widowed women by launching a number of programs, projects, and initiatives that guarantee care for them in these situations, including, among others:

The Alimony Fund is a financial fund with an independent legal personality, linked to the Minister of Justice. Its purpose is to disburse alimony to women who have been awarded such support by a judicial ruling but have not received it due to reasons other than insolvency or whose cases are pending before the court. Additionally, the board has sanctioned the provision of temporary alimony to beneficiaries prior to a formal ruling on alimony, particularly in cases of divorce, separation, and custody disputes.

The residential support program for widows provides various financing solutions and housing options, enabling widows and divorced women to own residential property. The program facilitates their access to 100 percent support on residential loan profits, up to SAR500,000. Additionally, the program offers various residential options and services, including the purchase of prefabricated housing units from the market or from the ministry's projects under construction in partnership with real estate developers, residential land, or self-building for landowners.

The "Kanaf" Program for widows and divorced women from the Social Development Bank is designed to support the most vulnerable segment of widows and divorced women by providing them with funding to alleviate the financial burdens and challenges they face.

The Daam Association for the Care of Divorced Women, Widows, and Their Children is an association established in Makkah al-Mukarramah Province. Its aim is to offer diverse services for widows and divorced women, including housing assistance, psychological support, legal aid, and social counseling. Additionally, it provides qualification programs aimed at preparing them for the job market and collaborates with relevant sectors to facilitate their employment opportunities.

"Qiyadat" is a national interactive platform that forms part of the initiatives of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. It aims to provide a database of national female leaders to facilitate their swift access to the public sector, private sector, and civil society institutions. The platform's objective is to elevate the quality of choices among Saudi women for representation of the Kingdom in local and foreign delegations, and official forums, while also documenting the success stories of women leaders.

The Social Support and Protection Platform aims to provide a monthly amount of ‘zakat money’ to beneficiaries including widows, divorced women, their children, elderly persons, and persons with disabilities, based on specific requirements and exceptions.

The Women Empowerment Agency, established in April 2019, aims to create initiatives and projects that support the empowerment of women and persons with disabilities in the Saudi labor market. Its goals include promoting and increasing women's participation in the labor market, reducing regulatory restrictions on women's access to employment, achieving equity in terms of equality of opportunities, developing promising women leaders and empowered cadres from persons with disabilities, and disseminating a culture of diversity, inclusiveness, and integration in the labor market while combating discrimination on the basis of gender. Among the agency’s initiatives are the National Platform for Saudi Women Leaders, the Gender Equality Project, the Beauty Center Support Initiative, the Women on Boards Project, the Child Daycare Localization Initiative, the Leadership Initiative for Women’s Cadres, and the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities in the Labor Market "Tamkeen" Program.

The ‘Women's Committee’ of the Family Affairs Council: The Family Affairs Council focuses on the family, its identity, values, and cohesion, aiming to improve its standard of living in various aspects. Its goal is to enhance the family's role in the development process by fostering interaction with relevant societal institutions. The Women's Committee is one of the council's committees, comprising specialists and individuals interested in women's affairs. The committee's mandate involves reviewing policies, forging partnerships, and implementing initiatives and programs to enhance women's status and empower them socially, economically, and cognitively, thereby ensuring the sustainability of family stability.

The Kingdom offers most services through online platforms without distinction between genders. However, its commitment to providing e-services specifically for women is evident to facilitate their needs. These services include, but are not limited to, premarital medical examinations, reproductive and venereal health services provided by the Ministry of Health, as well as services to combat digital illiteracy, and educational and training programs provided by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. The Social Development Bank also offers its services electronically through portals such as Wusool, Qurrah, Marin, Freelance Work, and Telework. Similarly, the Human Resources Development Fund provides various electronic services, including the Tamheer program and applications for employment in women's stores. The Ministry of Commerce also provides electronic services, such as Business Centers for Women and the Meras platform for business start-ups. Additionally, the Ministry of Justice facilitates the electronic finalization of numerous services, including the Taradhi Platform for reconciliation requests, the general management of lawyer services, and obtaining a notary's license.

The Kingdom achieved progress and reform in laws and regulations related to women in 2020, according to the World Bank’s indicators.

In the World Economic Forum’s report, the Kingdom ranked among the world's top three countries in terms of improvement of gender employment in 2022.

Saudi women's labor market share index (out of the total workforce) rose to 31.8 percent, exceeding the 2020 target of reaching 27.6 percent.

Saudi women's economic participation index climbed to 33.5 percent, exceeding the 2020 target of reaching 26.15 percent.

The World Bank Group's (Women, Business, and the Law) Index rose eighty points from one hundred in 2021.

The Kingdom's index rose to eighty points in 2022 compared to 25.63 points in 2019 in terms of women's empowerment, according to the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law report.

The economic participation rate of Saudi women in the labor market, according to the objectives of the National Transformation Program, surpassed 35.6 percent during the second quarter of 2022, exceeding the index’s baseline rate by 17 percent in 2017, to a target of 31.4 percent in 2025.

Futuristic initiatives in several modern, conventional, and emerging technologies provided by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology have contributed to the rehabilitation of 30,232 female trainees and the employment of approximately 15,311 women.

The percentage of women participating in the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology’s Tech Pioneers program, which targeted innovative entrepreneurs, reached 40 percent of participants, offering about 1,806 ideas.

The total number of women members, registered in the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology’s Digital Giving Initiative "Attaa Digital" aimed at eradicating illiteracy, was 194,110 members.

The total number of women beneficiaries included in the "Monsha’at" initiative reached 2,769,734 female beneficiaries.

Women's enterprises account for 45 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Kingdom.

The rate of classified scientific publications has risen by 91 percent over the past three years, along with a 52 percent increase in the citation rate of female researchers in scientific papers.

Establishment of twenty-five women's teams in various sports for the first time, the initiation of women's tournaments, and the hosting of several international tournaments.

Saudi women account for 34.7 percent of the total Saudi workforce.

The proportion of women in leadership positions has almost doubled since the launch of Saudi Vision 2030, reaching 41.1 percent.

Training of more than 1,700 women leaders and managers within the Leadership Initiative for Women's Cadres.

The launch of the parallel training program for the requirements of the labor market to train and recruit one hundred thousand female citizens by 2025.

More than nine thousand women leaders are registered in Qiyadat Platform to facilitate swift access to them through the formation of the database of national women leaders.

The launch of "Wusool" program to support the transport of working women has benefited over 184,000 female employees by the end of 2022.

The launch of the "Qurrah" program, aimed at supporting childcare services for working women has benefitted more than 14,000 female employees by the end of 2022.

Women's empowerment and support in the Kingdom have contributed to numerous local, regional, and international achievements. The Kingdom has undertaken over fifty legislative and executive reforms in various fields, which have contributed to the development of the legal framework for promoting and protecting women's rights and empowerment, as well as eliminating forms of discrimination against them. These reforms have resulted in significant achievements, including an increase in women's share of the labor market from 21.2 percent to 35.6 percent between 2017 and 2022, a rise in women's economic participation rate from 17 percent to 37 percent during the same period, and an increase in Saudi women employed in the civil service to 42 percent by the end of the third quarter of 2022.

In the framework of supporting and empowering women, doors were opened for women to join judicial, security, and military posts, and to serve as members of the public prosecution, on equal footing with men. The number of female members in the Public Prosecution reached two hundred, alongside 282 female administrative staff and 238 female trainees. Moreover, the count of female security and military personnel stood at 8,377, with an additional 9,976 females employed by the Ministry of the Interior, including its sectors and departments.