First Female Appointed to Saudi Arabia’s Council of Ministers

By Jacob Simkins

In a move advocates are calling Saudi Arabia’s first step towards women’s rights, King Abdullah appointed Norah al-Faiz as deputy minister for the department of women’s education, making her second in command on this issue. What remains unclear is whether she will have any real significant power. While other women have been appointed to lower councils and given positions, they have never been heard from, raising questions of the actual amount of power given to women. Under Saudi law, women are not allowed to drive and are legally the property of men. Advocates argue that even in her personal life, Al-Faiz has little power over her affairs, which instead rests with her male guardian.

Her appointment was not the only change of ministers in the council. The ministers for the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, along with the ministers of health, justice, culture and education were also replaced, all in an effort to show that the king was serious about reform and progress. The King maintains that he is fully supportive of women, and that as leader, he has always been on the side of women