Rashid Al-Fouzan Al-Riyadh newspaper This is not a random utterance nor a joke but a real fact of life. I will justify it to you through official figures. A few days ago it was announced that 73 percent of Saudi women with bachelor's degrees are unemployed. The study also said about 14 percent of the eight million foreign workers in our country do not have any educational qualifications. They are, therefore, illiterates who can neither read nor write. Someone may argue that these foreigners are taking jobs that Saudi men and women will not agree to accept. To him or her I have a question: Are all these eight million foreigners working in jobs that are not acceptable to Saudis? I do not understand the contradictions of our labor market. The loophole is obvious and cannot be missed. We as a society resist the idea of women's employment. This is manifested by the large number of unemployed Saudi women with high educational qualifications. Some people may argue that their qualifications and specializations are not required in the labor market. But this is not their fault. It is rather the problem of those who give them this sole option. Secondly, a Saudi woman may be made fit for any job through training, education and experience. Therefore, I do not see any obstacles or excuses that prevent Saudi women from being employed. The problem is in the bad planning for the employment of women. We focused on education without having any vision for what will follow. Nobody knows where all those certificates have gone. What gives an illiterate foreigner job opportunities while our educated women with high qualifications remain unemployed? This is a grave mistake that the Ministry of Interior should immediately address, especially since the ministry is quite aware of the risks of inaction. The Ministry of Commerce is aware that Tasatur (foreigners run and control business in exchange for monthly fee paid to the registered Saudi owners) is deeply rooted in the private sector and yet does nothing about it. The Ministry of Labor is inept in rooting out the control of foreigners over the business sector. We have to draft laws for the employment of women and also for protecting their jobs. We have to provide sufficient working opportunities for women. It is not just enough to create a vacancy without guarantees. This is should be done as a program and not just as a one-time decision.
