Welcome strides are being made to ensure Saudi women are brought into the economy to help with national development, but clearly a lot more needs to be done. Delegates at the Khadija Bint Khowailid Forum entitled “Participation of Women in National Development”, taking place this week at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, heard how Saudi women have made great strides over the last few years. But they also heard that they are lagging behind in terms of employment opportunities, like many of their sisters in other developing nations. As Princess Adela Bint Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, one of the forum's speakers, pointed out, Saudi women constitute 50 percent of the population and should be more active in the economy. She says there is an urgent need to diversify the Kingdom's economy for the sake of future generations. In similar fashion, Dr. Lama Al-Sulaiman, vice chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says that there is 27 percent unemployment in the Kingdom, but 78 percent of this total consists of unemployed females. Other barriers include tradition and culture, where families are not encouraging their female members to take up employment, says Princess Adela. These are worrying facts and figures, and are likely to take time to change, as was rightly pointed out a few days ago by Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdullah Kamel, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), who is also President of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry. However, Kamel also argued, quite correctly, that this was not only about the economy, but also granting women their rightful place in the economy, as guaranteed by Islam. He said “it's about time” that people “live in reality”. This country, already a major player in the region and the world, will become even more significant if it can harness the power of its women. __
