Saudi Arabia laments dire situation of women in Syria, Palestine

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has expressed regret and sorrow for the current problems experienced by women in many parts of the world.
They suffer all kinds of violence, exploitation and human trafficking, especially in the occupied Palestinian territories where Palestinian women face serious violations of their human rights by the Israeli occupation forces.
Syrian women also face similar problems and the Kingdom has called on the international community to eradicate such crimes and inhumane practices, and to hold accountable those who commit them.
These facts were part of a speech by Saad bin Abdullah Al-Saad, deputy permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the UN. He spoke to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the UN on Friday during the 60th session of the commission, a local publication reported.
“Our meeting confirms the importance of the interest and keenness of the international community toward women’s issues and their sustainable development which was adopted last September within the framework of sustainable development goals,” he said.
“The Kingdom emphasizes its firm stance which strictly rejects introducing terms such as gender, gender identity, comprehensive sexual education, reproductive health and reference to homosexuals in any document issued by the commission,” he said.
“Our interpretation of the term sex in any document issued or to be issued by the UN is represented by male and female, and that any human and family relation will be restricted to the frame of holy matrimony between male and female,” he said. “In the event any of these terms are interpreted out of this frame or intentions, the Kingdom reaffirms its sovereign rights to express full reservation on the implementation of any recommendations that are inconsistent with the principles of our Islamic religion.”
He said: “I would like to point out what was done by the government of Saudi Arabia concerning the political empowerment of Saudi women and their participation as voters and candidates in the municipal elections on Dec. 12, 2015, for the first time in the history of the Kingdom.”
On the subject of education, he said, the enrollment of Saudi females in education establishments amounted to 97.39 percent. “The Kingdom provides free education to all and is committed to the highest standards in the various stages of education. Female enrollment ratio in higher education institutions stands at 51.8 percent and those enrolled in postgraduate programs is increasing following the expansion of the establishment of scientific research centers and the provision of scholarship opportunities for both male and female students to study abroad in various disciplines and specialties.”