Saudi doctor and Shura Council advisor Dr. Maha Abdulla Al Muneef was named a 'Women of Courage', by U.S. First Lady, Michelle Obama on Friday in honor of International Women's Day. "Dr. Maha Abdulla Al Muneef has worked tirelessly to spread awareness about domestic violence and victims of child abuse. She is the executive director of the National Family Safety Program, or NFSP, which she founded in 2005 to combat domestic violence and child abuse in Saudi Arabia. Hers is the first organization in Saudi Arabia to address these issues. And under Dr. Al Muneef's leadership, the NFSP has developed advocacy programs, reported on domestic violence and child abuse statistics in Saudi Arabia, and provided services for victims of abuse," State Department spokesperson said in introducing Dr. Maha Abdulla Al Muneef. "Their hard work was rewarded in August 2013 when, after a multiyear effort, the Council of Ministers adopted landmark legislation to address these issues. Dr. Al Muneef and the NFSP played an instrumental role in drafting and advising on the Protection from Abuse law, which defines and criminalized domestic violence for the first time in Saudi Arabia." In addition to Dr. Maha, nine other women were honored as Women of Courage. They came from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Fiji, Georgia, Guatemala, India, Mali, Tajikistan and Zimbabwe.
