The appointment of six women as members of the Human Rights Commission in its third four-year session has been applauded as an important milestone toward protecting the rights of women and children in the country. "The move will make women's voice at the organization stronger, giving HRC a new dimension," said Samha Al-Ghamdi, one of the four full-time members. Speaking to Al-Hayat Arabic daily, Al-Ghamdi commended HRC's male members for taking up women's issues during the last two four-year terms. "I hope that women members would be able to perform well rising up to the expectations of Saudi leadership," she added. Al-Ghamdi said women members would represent the organization at national and international levels and contribute to reducing women's woes and worries. "Violence against women is one of the major issues that concerns me the most," she said, adding that she would support women who are unable to obtain their legitimate rights, especially orphans and people of special needs. She said female HRC members would strive for women's rights within the organization's framework and making use of its agenda. "I will give priority to family issues," Al-Ghamdi said while stressing the need to get rid of negative effects of male domination on women. "Male guardianship should be controlled," she said while recognizing men's important role in the family. "Lack of family balance is one of the reasons that lead to violence. Many widows and divorcees have suffered a lot of injustice and they live alone. These women should be given powers to manage their affairs by themselves and I believe that HRC should intervene to protect their rights," said Al-Ghamdi who was appointed considering her experience in setting up Kiyan Association and her efforts in campaigning for the rights of orphans through social media. She adopted three children including two boys and a girl. The first child, a boy, was adopted while she was doing her master's; the second is a special-need child, also a boy, while the third is a girl. She takes care of the three in addition to her two sons and three daughters. Al-Ghamdi considers adoption of the three children as a great blessing that gave her life a new meaning. "I adopted the three orphans inspired by the teachings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) who said it would bring divine blessings to the adopter and his/her family," she said. "I strongly believe that I was able to overcome many problems as a result of this blessing," Al-Ghamdi said. The Ministry of Labor and Social Development has given orphans a new name which is children of special situation. This has helped them merge with society without any difficulty. He commended Saudi businessmen and businesswomen for their generous support to Kiyan, which looks after children of special situation whose parents were unknown. It has organized a Haj trip for 38 young girls. This is the first licensed organization that cares for orphan girls. Its funding comes from the Ministry of Labor and Social Development's aid and donations from philanthropists.
