Cairo: A commercial court in Saudi Arabia has ordered the appointment of a female citizen to arbiter two cases for the first time, the latest sign of boosting women’s empowerment in the kingdom, a local newspaper has report.
The decision was made by the commercial appeals circuit at the Commercial Court in the Saudi port city of Jeddah as part of efforts to empower Saudi women in the area of trade arbitration, the news portal Sabq said. Neither the woman’s name or age was given.
The appointment is the first of its kind in the history of Saudi commercial courts and reflects interest in the justice system to enhance women’s empowerment, it added.
Empowering women
The Saudi Justice Ministry has recently accorded more attention to employing and serving women in its departments and law courts.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has taken steps to empower women in different domains as part of dramatic socio-economic reforms in the country.
In 2018, the kingdom allowed women to drive for the first time in its history, ending a decades-old ban on female driving. Saudi authorities have also allowed women to travel without a male guard’s approval and to apply for a passport, easing long-time controls on them.