Saudi women encouraged to pursue education
Posted by Abida Rehman
Riyadh: Saudi women are being encouraged to pursue world-class
educations, with new schools opening for gifted girls and a greater
emphasis on attending university.
In 1965, the country’s female literacy rate was 5 per cent. Today, 60
per cent of the college students in Saudi Arabia are women, and their
employment rate has nearly tripled from 5.4 per cent to 14.4 per cent,
according to a report in Thursday’s Saudi Gazette.
The king has also launched a generous scholarship programme for young
Saudis to study abroad with about 130,000 students now enrolled at
universities outside the country, about half of whom are in the United
States. Many are women, yet they only are granted an award if a male
relative travels with them.
Still, as these women return, the king may be hoping their exposure
to the outside world will help him move mainstream opinion in favour of
controlled change, observers say.
Read more: http://www.themuslimtimes.org/2012/08/countries/saudi-arabia/saudi-women-encouraged-to-pursue-education#ixzz2AfAlwa9T
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