By Aljohara Zarea

JEDDAH — At the present time, if we try to count the rights that are enjoyed by Saudi women, we will not be able to do so because of its abundance. These include everything needed to ensure a decent life for a human being.

Saudi Arabia has witnessed radical reforms in the laws related to women’s rights, through which they have gained strength and great confidence in themselves.

Until recently, some people of the world were mistaken in judging Saudi Arabia by saying that it is an uncivilized country, especially when it comes to women’s rights and empowerment. At that time, they were accusing the Kingdom of depriving women of their rights.

All these judgments and gossips are ignorant misinformation, as the Kingdom is one of the countries that protects women's rights. Saudi Arabia is founded on a set of views and beliefs that are based on Islam, through which it has honored women and preserved their rights in various fields of life.

Like any reforms anywhere in the world, “things take time to happen” and although Saudi Arabia as a country always protected women’s human rights, still it was hard for some people to realize the big picture of the country’s social structure.

Saudi women's dreams and ambitions have grown bigger, and they would not have believed five years ago that they would ever enjoy the rights that every woman dreams of.

The Kingdom has made reforms to laws and legislation related to women empowerment, through which it has been ranked in the global indicators for the second year in a row. According to a report issued by the World Bank Group, Saudi Arabia scored 80 points out of 100 in 2021.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia has been ranked 89 among The World’s Best Countries For Women in 2021, according to a report published by the CEOWORLD magazine.

The President of Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission (HRC), Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad, has stated recently that the Kingdom has witnessed massive progress with regard to women’s rights, which includes legislative, judicial, procedural and administrative aspects, among many others.

Saudi women enjoy several advantages for which the Saudi government has worked, as it has made great efforts to achieve integrative equality between men and women in various sectors.

Women's health rights:

The Ministry of Health takes care of what is stipulated in Article 4 of the Saudi health system, which is concerned with the health of mothers and children, which includes several things, most notably:

— A woman aged 18 years or above, without the consent of her guardian, has the right to accept or refuse to sign medical permission for her own surgical operation.

— Women can perform preventive and curative examinations for infectious and non-communicable venereal diseases and sexual diseases, as this is done in complete secrecy and privacy, as required by Sharia laws and procedures.

— As for maternity, women can obtain health advice if they wish to organize the process of childbearing. They can obtain free contraceptives under medical supervision at health centers and hospitals affiliated with the Ministry of Health.

— Women who are going to give birth, be provided a safe environment that guarantees them a decent and respectful delivery.

— A pregnant woman has the right to know the expected method of childbirth, whether it was by a natural method, cesarean section, or through auxiliary methods.

— An expecting mother has the right to refuse episiotomy (making an incision in the perineum at childbirth) unless it is essential after oral consent and after all information and options available have been explained to her

— The guardian does not have to consent to a cesarean section, but the woman has the right to choose what is good for her.

Women's educational rights:

The Ministry of Education has taken care of women's education by offering several programs to help them develop in the educational field.

— One of the decisions that prove the Saudi government’s interest in educating the country’s women is the issuance of a royal order in 1434 AH appointing 30 women as members of the Shoura Council, and mandating that the proportion of women in the council should not be less than 20 percent of its total membership.

— Saudi Arabia has started several programs for continuing education. It issued a decision to make education compulsory and this was done by establishing a government department for continuing education and eradicating illiteracy, in addition to expanding the spread of public education schools in remote villages.

— The continuing education programs have contributed to reducing illiteracy to 3.7%.

Empowering women at work:

— A workplace owner must provide complete medical care to the working woman during her pregnancy and childbirth.

— Employers must provide resting places for women in all professions.

— Rest is determined according to the work they carry out.

— Women can work in all fields and sectors.

Gender equality:

Saudi Arabia's systems are based on the principle of complementary equality between men and women, which is achieved through equality the integration of the relationship between the sexes in the best way to protect human rights in all fields.

— The Human Rights Commission in Saudi Arabia offers the opportunity to submit a complaint or a report by both sexes in the event that one of them is subjected to discrimination, inequality, or other human rights abuses.

— The Kingdom has been keen to prevent discrimination between the sexes by preserving their rights, such as salaries, type of job and number of working hours, in addition to unifying the retirement age for both sexes.

— Allowing women to travel and to obtain a passport without requiring the approval of her guardian.

Women's judicial rights:

The Kingdom has also issued judicial decisions that enhance their rights, most notably:

— Saudi Arabia had approved of the alimony fund that provides support to the mother and her children during the litigation period.

— The fund assists mainly divorced women who have difficulty pursuing procrastinating spouses who refuse to pay maintenance to them and their children.

— Employing women in 5 fields such as social researcher, Shariah researcher, legal researcher and administrative aide in the Ministry of Justice and senior program developer.

— Employing women as notaries.

— Increasing the number of female lawyers by 120%.

— Allocating special centers to implement custody provisions instead of police stations, in order to provide an exemplary safe environment for children.

— Granting women the right of guardianship over the child in custody to facilitate their procedures in civil status, passports, embassies, and education departments.

— The woman has the right to custody of her children without a lawsuit.

Women’s rights in marriage:

— Allowing women to get a copy of their marriage contract.

— Directing marriage officials to hear the woman’s verbal consent before documenting the marriage contract.

— Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission emphasized that the cases of Adhl (preventing women from getting married) practiced by some parents is considered as a crime,

— Article 39 of the Legal Procedures Law stipulates that a woman who has been prevented by her legal guardians from getting married is entitled to file a lawsuit against them.

— Saudi Arabia prevents forcing women to marry someone they do not want.

— Prohibiting marriage contracts for anyone under the age of 18, in line with the Executive Regulations of Child Protection Law.

— The divorce deed shall be delivered to the divorcee in person.

— Women have the right to obtain a family registry from the Civil Status Department.

— A judgment issued against a woman to return to the marital home shall not be enforced against her will.

The Kingdom has developed some services and programs for empowering women to meet their needs in terms of protecting their rights in the websites of most ministries, such as the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Justice, the Human Rights Commission and many more.