The Secretary General of the Family Affairs Council, Dr. Hala bint Mazeed Al-Tuwaijri, praised the positive developments that Saudi women are experiencing in various fields: “Saudi women are currently living their golden age, helped by the political will, the unification of efforts and cooperation between government agencies, and the maturity of female cadres. During her participation in a dialogue session on the role of women in development, held recently as part of the activities of the “First Conference of the National Observatory for Women” organized by King Saud University in Riyadh, she explained that the political will and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 enabled women to participate in decision-making and assume leadership positions in the public and private sectors, and contributed to increasing their employment opportunities and their participation in economic and social development. She emphasized that the recent trends of leadership in the Kingdom focus on sustainable development and the empowerment of women and girls, guided by the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Kingdom has developed the necessary national frameworks to achieve these goals, as well as changing the direction of government spending to development instead of welfare, and reviewed the current status of women’s participation in decision-making in the Kingdom, explaining that women participate in political decision-making by allocating 20 percent of Shura Council seats for women and their participation in municipal elections as voters and candidates, and women hold many leadership positions in several sectors. She pointed out that the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program focused on women’s contribution to economic and social development by increasing their participation in the labor market in various fields and job levels and removing barriers that prevent them from joining the labor market.

For her part, Dr. Lana bint Hassan bin Saeed, a member of the Council of Family Affairs and Chairperson of the Council’s Women’s Committee, stressed during her participation in the dialogue session that building and formulating a national strategy for Saudi women is one of the priorities of the Women’s Committee in the Council of Family Affairs, and that the strategy will be consistent with the Kingdom’s vision and sustainable development goals, as well as with the international conventions related to women ratified by the Kingdom, all within the framework of Islamic Shari’ah. She explained that the strategy will enable the government to follow up and monitor the implementation of projects, programs and services and ensure the improvement and development of women’s access to their rights and ensure their full and effective participation in the development fields, pointing out that the process of building and drafting the strategy consists of three main stages: reality analysis, strategic framework and national plan, as an advisory team represented by women-related entities is working to review, audit and analyze the stages of completing the strategy and aligning it with national goals and visions.