Gender equality progress is incredibly slow in Saudi Arabia and lags far behind the rest of the world. In this regard, make a timeline highlighting the women’s rights in Saudi Arabia.
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Answer:
Among the factors that define rights for women in Saudi Arabia are government laws, the Hanbali and Wahhabi schools of Sunni Islam, and traditional customs of the Arabian Peninsula.[12] Women campaigned for their rights with the women to drive movement[13] and the anti male-guardianship campaign,[14][15] which resulted in improvements to their status during the second decade of the twenty-first century.
Women were previously forbidden from voting in all elections or being elected to any political office, but in 2011 King Abdullah let women vote in the 2015 local elections and be appointed to the Consultative Assembly.[16] Since 2013, the women's representation in the Consultative Assembly, the Saudi national legislation, is required to hold at least 20 percent of seats,[17] which exceeded the representation of women in the United States Congress at one point.[18][19] In 2011, there were more female university graduates in Saudi Arabia than male,[20] and female literacy was estimated to be 91%, which while still lower than male literacy, was far higher than 40 years earlier. In 2013, the average age at first marriage among Saudi females was 25 years.[21][22][23] In 2017, King Salman ordered that women be allowed access to government services such as education and healthcare without the need for consent from a guardian.[24] He also issued a decree allowing women to drive, lifting the world's only ban on women drivers.[25] In 2018, the percentage of women workforce jumped to 20.2%.[26] Due to guardianship and divorce laws, many women were not previously aware when their husbands divorced them. This often created confusion and even led to homelessness. In January 2019, the Saudi supreme court issued a law requiring women to receive a text message from the court when officially divorced.[27] Moreover, new laws were issued on 1 August 2019, granting women the right to register a divorce or a marriage and apply for official documents without requiring their guardian's permission.[28][29]
In the G20 meeting of 2019, Saudi Arabia participated in the women empowerment initiative that aims at reducing the pay gap between male and female as well as supporting women's participation in small business.[30]
On 1 August 2019, a royal decree was published in the Saudi official gazette Um al-Qura that would loosen travel restrictions on Saudi women. Several other liberalizing measures were also included in the decree.[31][32] According to the Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Information, the new laws will come into effect at the end of August 2019.[33]
In 2019, the government of Saudi Arabia stated that women can start working for higher officer ranks in the military.[34] In December 2019, Saudi Arabia issued a ban on marriages for people under the age of 18 for both genders.[35][36]
In 2020, Saudi Arabia was ranked as a top reformer on women’s rights at work. According to the World Bank, Saudi Arabia has made significant improvement since 2017, affecting mobility, sexual harassment, pensions and workplace rights.[37][38]
In 2021, the Saudi undersecretary for women’s empowerment has stated that women will be able to be appointed as court judges.[39][40]