The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stated that during the reign of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi women gained privileges and rights that accelerated the progress of women status. Delivering the speech of the Kingdom today before the Human Rights Council on women's rights, Representative of the Kingdom to the United Nations in Geneva Ambassador Dr. Abdul Wahab Attar highlighted care given to development of Saudi women skills in the Saudi development plan and said, "The Kingdom gives rights of the women all the attention. Islamic law focuses on basic human rights giving women their rights in all affairs of life. Texts and concepts of Islamic law prohibit any violations and oppression directed at women and grant them their rightful place." He pointed out that Saudi Arabia's accession to the convention against various forms of discrimination against women and subsequent agreements is evidence of the Kingdom's efforts to create fertile ground for women's work and involvement in the development process taking place in various fields. The kingdom has provided more employment opportunities for women in various fields. Saudi women occupy an important place in the field of education. The numbers of girls in certain stages of education exceed the number of males. Programs for study by females abroad have been implemented bringing the number of Saudi females studying abroad to 25,000 students in various disciplines, he said. He added that the number of women in the ministries and government facilities have increased and women have gained high places citing for example the appointment of both the first woman in a leading position as Deputy Minister of Education for Girls' Affairs and the director of Princess Noura bint Abdulrahman University for Girls, the first public university integrated especially for women, as well as the increased number of women working at the Shoura Council. On the role of women in the private sector, Ambassador Dr. Attar said that the number of business licenses owned by Saudi women reached 40,000, an increase of 77 per cent than it was a period of years ago, stressing that the kingdom gives women more opportunities in many fields in addition to their participation in the political, economic and others matters.
