Saudi Women: From Where and Whither?

Dr Fowziyah Abu Khalid

17th Dec 2025, 1pm UK time/ 5pm UAE time

The latest webinar from the series: Empowering Muslim Women in Scientific Research. Organized by the Universities of Sharjah & Manchester.

Summary:
Saudi women’s roles from restrictive visibility to active public participation.

In this talk, Fowziyah Abu Khalid will reflect on the sweeping sociopolitical transformation that has reshaped the lives of Saudi women—from their limited public visibility in the mid-20th century to their emergence today as active participants in education, employment, and national development. She will trace the key milestones that enabled this shift, including the introduction of girls’ education, women’s entry into professional fields, and their gradual integration into higher education, while also addressing the periods of conservative regression that slowed progress. Abu Khalid will discuss how renewed national dialogue in the late 1990s and early 2000s reopened space for reform, culminating in the major changes after 2018 and the Vision 2030 agenda. Her talk situates these developments within a larger narrative of modernisation, social advocacy, and the reimagining of Saudi identity.

For more information, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/saudi-women-from-where-and-whither-fowziyah-abu-khalid-tickets-1977271463173?aff=oddtdtcreator