The latest development is a part of an initiative launched by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aiming to diversify the economy beyond oil and mandates increasing the percentage of Saudi women in the workforce. However, to be eligible for a soldier rank role, a woman must meet 12 conditions. Saudi women to start own businesses without male permissionWhile women still face a host of restrictions in the ultraconservative Muslim kingdom, Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor’s office this month said it would begin recruiting women investigators for the first time. Women in Saudi Arabia can now open their own businesses without the consent of a husband or male relative, as the kingdom pushes to expand a fast-growing private sector. Prince Mohammed is widely seen as the chief architect behind Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” reform programme, which seeks to elevate the percentage of women in the work force from 22% to nearly one-third.

Source: The Express Tribune February 23, 2018 18:22 UTC