Women's education in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a theocracy organized according to the principles of Islam, which puts emphasis on the importance of knowledge and education.

In Islamic belief, obtaining knowledge is the only way to gain true understanding of life, and as such, both men and women are encouraged to study.

[8] Before public schools for girls were opened, women born into wealthy families could access education via in-home tutoring.

[1] In 1955, Queen (Princess at the time) Effat, King Faisal's Wife, of Saudi Arabia established "Dar Al Hanan", the first school for girls in the country.

[10] The scholarship provided full-board scholarships for women including a year-round ticket, monthly stipend, full tuition coverage, free private tutoring, and even a monthly stipend and yearly ticket for a male family relative to travel with all the women students.

[17] Again in 2014, a female student at King Saud University died after the religious police officers stopped paramedics from entering.

"[19] Obesity is a problem among middle and upper-class Saudis who have domestic servants to do traditional work but, until 2018, women were forbidden to drive and so they were limited in their ability to leave their home.

[22][23] The restrictions include forcing women to sit in separate specially designated family sections in restaurants, to wear an abaya and to cover their hair.

[22] However, in 2016, the Saudi cabinet has drastically reduced the power of the religious police and barred it "from pursuing, questioning, asking for identification, arresting and detaining anyone suspected of a crime", making them effectively "non-existent" in the public sphere anymore.

[24] A few Saudi women have risen to the top of the medical profession; for example, Ghada Al-Mutairi heads a medical research centre in California[25] and Salwa Al-Hazzaa is head of the ophthalmology department at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh and was the late King Fahad's personal ophthalmologist.

[7] A girls' college was also established by King Faisal and his wife, Iffat, called Kulliyyat Al Banat.

In addition, husbands can withhold consent if women access scholarships to or travel for higher education abroad.

In recent years there has been an issue that has intensified the need for a larger labor force, and allowing women out of the home and into the economy.

If the government discovers unlawful mixing of the sexes, they are authorized to arrest the violators and bring them to the nearest police station where they can be criminally charged.

The issue of guardianship is introduced and employers in both the private and public sector require female staff to obtain the permission of a male guardian in order to be hired.

There needs to be a push forward and renewal of institutions for religious ideas so the political economy can include both men and women.