Wed 05 February 2020:
Saudi women made notable advances in various fields following the reforms undertaken in the Kingdom under the Vision 2030 spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
The most recent major milestone has been the launch this week of the first military wing for women in the country’s Armed Forces.
This latest development this week was highlighted by Reema Bandar al-Saud, Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States, in a tweet: “The first women’s wing in Saudi Arabia’s Armed Forces has been inaugurated.”
The First Women’s Wing In Saudi Arabia’s Armed Forces Has Been Inaugurated https://t.co/N2yM5qk18M
— Reema Bandar Al-Saud (@rbalsaud) February 4, 2020
Reacting to the news, a Twitter user responded: “This is a major achievement, which four years ago many thought unlikely to happen in this time-frame.”
The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Gen. Fayyad al-Ruwaili, inaugurated the women’s wing, with the Director-General of the General Administration of Admission and Recruitment,Maj. Gen. Imad al-Aidan, present during the function.
The new wing is part of a larger initiative by Saudi Arabia to integrate women across the country into the military.
The positions of lance corporals, corporals, sergeants, and staff sergeants in several branches such as the Royal Saudi Land Forces, Royal Saudi Air Force, Royal Saudi Naval Forces, Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces, Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force, and Armed Forces Medical Services are now open to women.
Another step to empowerment, #Saudi women to join the army for the first time pic.twitter.com/OyM6FBgpkF
— Foreign Ministry ?? (@KSAmofaEN) October 9, 2019
Last year, women were incorporated into the once male-dominated border control functions. According to a report, up to 70 percent of passport control officers based at key Saudi airports could be made of female officers.
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