By Alhanouf Aldouqi

JEDDAH — Seeing a Saudi woman in military uniform and saluting is no longer a taboo in society. Saudi women are living in an unprecedented phase of empowerment in light of the historical gains they have made since Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz took the reins of government in 2015.

Saudi Arabia has enabled women in the military to be partners in a transforming industry that the country is currently witnessing. This affirms that “women are an important component of the nation’s strength, and it will continue to develop their talents, invest their energies and enable them to avail of opportunities for them to build their future.”

Women were given opportunities in various security sectors such as the Royal Guard, traffic, road security, regional police and Hajj security. The Ministry of Defense also opened for them the doors of the armed forces in all of its four branches: land, air, navy, and air defense.

Although the decision to allow Saudi women to join the military corps was issued in March 2018, their presence in the military has been around for years, but in specific ranges, as the security fields opened their doors wide before women in acknowledgment of their qualifications and experience.

Last September witnessed the graduation ceremony of the first batch at the women's cadre training center of the Saudi armed forces. The cadets came out with various military ranks — soldier, first soldier, corporal, sergeant's agent, and sergeant — after completing the basic individual course, which was for a period of 420 days to train them in the ABCs of military service.

Female soldiers must meet certain requirements to join the Saudi military sectors, the most important of which are that both of their parents must be Saudi citizens, they have certificates of good conduct, and are medically fit for military service and full-time work. They must be aged at least 21 years and not more than 40 years, and have a height of 155 cm.

The first Saudi woman soldier to speak at a press conference was Abeer Al-Rashed, who briefed the media on behalf of the heads of the Hajj security forces with a noteworthy performance and unique language at the peak of the last Hajj season.