As far as Saudi women are concerned, 2013 was a remarkable year. The most important achievement for women in the year was the appointment of 30 Saudi women to the Shoura Council. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah announced in 2011 that women would be appointed as full members of the Council. It was also decided that Saudi women would be nominated or elected to municipal councils from next year onwards. Currently, women constitute one-fifth of the Shoura Council. Seating for women is in the main hall of the Council where they take part in deliberations together with male members without any curtain or wearing of a veil. The year 2013 witnessed considerable progress in the Shoura's activities with active participation seen from women members. They proposed several important recommendations, such as the demand to allow women to drive and an end to the discrimination against women in the social insurance law. They refuted several reports that came up for discussion in front of the Council by pointing out the shortcomings of the report, such as those of the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment. The entry of women as members of the Shoura Council is regarded as the first step to their entry into the political arena with direct involvement in the issues affecting public life, together with their male counterparts, in such a way that they support each other in the nation building process. In 2013, Saudi women also began to prepare to participate in the municipal elections to be held in 2015. They have already formed alliances together with government firms and civil organizations, such as the initiative of “Baladi.” Training programs for women on how to effectively play their new role in municipal councils have already started in various regions of the Kingdom. The year 2013 also witnessed the passage of several landmark laws, and most important among them is the law on domestic violence. The law is significant as the majority of victims of domestic violence are women and children. Even though Saudi Arabia approved a surplus budget and there was a substantial increase in the number of working women, the Kingdom still remains among the least advanced countries in the region in terms of the economic opportunities for women over the past 50 years, according to a report by the World Bank. Saudi women were also able to take advantage of judicial reforms. In November 2013, the Ministry of Justice decided to allow women to practice as lawyers in courts. Even though women have been allowed to study law since 2006, they were not allowed to practice until last year.
One of the major developments that took place in 2013 pertains to the issue of women driving. In October, a group of women from various regions declared an “open driving campaign” as part of a measure to mount pressure on authorities to lift the Kingdom's ban on women behind the wheel. They came out openly with their international or GCC licenses to take part in the campaign on Oct. 26, Nov. 30 and Dec. 28. These women also signed pledges to the effect that they would go ahead with their campaign and announced plans to keep the issue alive in the media as well as to approach courts to secure their right to drive. The campaign of Oct. 26 got wide media coverage and local attention, and consequently, the Minister of Interior and the Emir of Riyadh directly contacted the leaders of the campaign. The campaign leaders also wrote to the King as per the instructions of the Emir. The media played an important role in highlighting the demand of a major segment of society in this regard. The year also witnessed some success stories of Saudi women. The young woman from Jazan, Raha Moharrak, became the first Saudi woman and the youngest Arab to scale Mount Everest. Earlier in 2012, a group of 10 young Saudi women managed to climb to the Everest Base Camp. During the year, the Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour was in the limelight. Her feature debut “Wadjda” was the first Saudi film submitted to the 86th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. I hope that next year will bring Saudi women more success, rights and initiatives that will lead to their empowerment.
