Browsing by Author "Omonkhua, Akhere"

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    Women empowerment: A new agenda for socio-economic development in Saudi Arabia
    (African Journal of Reproductive Health, 2021-03) Okonofua, Friday Ehbodaghe; Omonkhua, Akhere
    Over the years, it has been recognized that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), an oil-rich country with a population of 34.3 million people, has had relatively insidious laws and practices relating to women, in part due to the strict application of the Sharia law. The 2016 World Economic Forum ranked Saudi Arabia 141st out of 144 countries in terms of gender parity, and indeed, women were only allowed to vote in the Kingdom in 2015. However, since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came into office in 2017, a series of positive reforms relating to women development began to surface in the Kingdom. Most noteworthy of these reforms is the enunciation of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 reform program, a major part of which was devoted to increasing women’s participation in economic activities. In consequence, several women empowerment measures were put in place, including those that relate to increased job mobility for women, prevention of sexual harassment in workplaces, pension reforms, and the enunciation of workplace rights. Within three years of the emergence of gender transformative political re-positioning in Saudi, it is gratifying to note that the World Bank ranked the country in 2020 as a top reformer in women’s rights at work