Women's rights in Saudi Arabia

Women's rights in Saudi Arabia
	Saudi ambassador to the U.S. Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud
General Statistics
Maternal mortality (per 100,000)	12 (2015)
Women in parliament	19.9% (2016)
Women over 25 with secondary education	77.2% (2020)
Women in labour force	37.0% (2022)
Gender Inequality Index (2021)
Value	0.247
Rank	59th out of 191
Global Gender Gap Index (2022)
Value	0.636
Rank	127th out of 146

Women's rights in Saudi Arabia is a topic of concern and controversy internationally. Saudi women have experienced major legal rights reforms since 2017,^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10] after facing Wahhabi religious fundamentalist dominance for decades.^[11]^[12]

According to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, women in Saudi Arabia still experience discrimination in relation to marriage, family, and divorce, despite the reforms,^[13]^[14] and the Saudi government continues to target and repress women's rights activists and movements.^[15] Prominent feminist campaigns include the Women to Drive Movement^[16] and the anti male-guardianship campaign,^[17]^[18] which have resulted in significant advances in women's rights.^[19]

Women's societal roles in Saudi Arabia are heavily affected by Islamic and local traditions of the Arabian Peninsula. Wahhabism and the Hanbali school of Sunni Islam, as well as the traditions of the Arabian Peninsula and national and local laws, all impact women's rights in Saudi Arabia.^[20]

^ "Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births)". World Bank.
^ "Women in parliament in 2016" (PDF). Inter-Parliamentary Union.
^ "Educational attainment, at least completed lower secondary, population 25+, total (%) (cumulative)". World Bank.
^ "Unemployment rate for Saudis slightly increases to 9.9% and total population remains unchanged at 5.8% for Q3 2022" (PDF). General Authority for Statistics (Saudi Arabia).
^ "Human Development Report 2021/2022 Overview" (PDF). Human Development Reports. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^ "Global Gender Gap Report 2022" (PDF). World Economic Forum. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
^ "Saudi Arabia's women's rights reforms long overdue". Amnesty International. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2022. Saudi Arabian newspapers announced major reforms to several laws
^ "Saudi Arabia: Proposed Reforms Neglect Basic Rights". Human Rights Watch. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2022. Saudi Arabia introduced significant women's rights reforms
^ "Saudi women rising up in business in line with Vision 2030". World Bank. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
^ "Saudi Arabia allows women into stadium as it steps up reforms". the Guardian. Reuters. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
^ "Mecca 1979: The mosque siege that changed the course of Saudi history". BBC News. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
^ Nadeem F Paracha, Dawn com. "1979: The year that sent Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan down the path of conservatism". Scroll.in. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
^ Human Rights Watch (13 January 2022), "Saudi Arabia: Events of 2021", English, retrieved 1 April 2022
^ "Saudi Arabia". Amnesty International USA. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
^ "Saudi Arabia 2020 Archives". Amnesty International. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
^ Cite error: The named reference HRW2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference CNN_right_to_travel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Guardian_2016_petition was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Saudi Arabia's women's rights reforms long overdue". Amnesty International. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2022. The reforms announced today are a significant
^ "Saudi Arabia: Cultural Homogeneity and Values". US Library of Congress. 1992.

[1] "Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births)". World Bank.

[2] "Women in parliament in 2016" (PDF). Inter-Parliamentary Union.

[3] "Educational attainment, at least completed lower secondary, population 25+, total (%) (cumulative)". World Bank.

[4] "Unemployment rate for Saudis slightly increases to 9.9% and total population remains unchanged at 5.8% for Q3 2022" (PDF). General Authority for Statistics (Saudi Arabia).

[5] "Human Development Report 2021/2022 Overview" (PDF). Human Development Reports. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

[6] "Global Gender Gap Report 2022" (PDF). World Economic Forum. Retrieved 1 March 2023.

[7] "Saudi Arabia's women's rights reforms long overdue". Amnesty International. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2022. Saudi Arabian newspapers announced major reforms to several laws

[8] "Saudi Arabia: Proposed Reforms Neglect Basic Rights". Human Rights Watch. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2022. Saudi Arabia introduced significant women's rights reforms

[9] "Saudi women rising up in business in line with Vision 2030". World Bank. Retrieved 19 August 2022.

[10] "Saudi Arabia allows women into stadium as it steps up reforms". the Guardian. Reuters. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2022.

[11] "Mecca 1979: The mosque siege that changed the course of Saudi history". BBC News. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2022.

[12] Nadeem F Paracha, Dawn com. "1979: The year that sent Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan down the path of conservatism". Scroll.in. Retrieved 20 June 2022.

[13] Human Rights Watch (13 January 2022), "Saudi Arabia: Events of 2021", English, retrieved 1 April 2022

[14] "Saudi Arabia". Amnesty International USA. Retrieved 1 April 2022.

[:6-15] "Saudi Arabia 2020 Archives". Amnesty International. Retrieved 23 March 2022.

[HRW2016-16] Cite error: The named reference HRW2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[CNN_right_to_travel-17] Cite error: The named reference CNN_right_to_travel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Guardian_2016_petition-18] Cite error: The named reference Guardian_2016_petition was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[19] "Saudi Arabia's women's rights reforms long overdue". Amnesty International. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2022. The reforms announced today are a significant

[loc-20] "Saudi Arabia: Cultural Homogeneity and Values". US Library of Congress. 1992.

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General Statistics
Saudi ambassador to the U.S. Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud
Maternal mortality (per 100,000)	12 (2015)^[1]
Women in parliament	19.9% (2016)^[2]
Women over 25 with secondary education	77.2% (2020)^[3]
Women in labour force	37.0% (2022)^[4]
Gender Inequality Index^[5] (2021)
Value	0.247
Rank	59th out of 191
Global Gender Gap Index^[6] (2022)
Value	0.636
Rank	127th out of 146