The First Women’s Wing In Saudi Arabia’s Armed Forces Has Been Inaugurated

Following a wave of key reforms under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, an ambitious national transformation plan that is being spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Saudi women have been taking every sector by storm, from aviation security to passport controllers. This week, women in the Kingdom has attained another milestone, this time with the launch of the first military wing for women in the country’s Armed Forces.

The wing was inaugurated by Chief of Staff Gen. Fayyad Al-Ruwaili, and Director General of the General Administration of Admission and Recruitment at the Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Imad Al-Aidan was also in attendance and spoke at the event. As part of his speech, he explained the regulations of acceptance, and allocated locations where the female staff will be stationed.

The new wing is part of a larger initiative by Saudi Arabia to integrate women into the field, an effort that has now opened the military to women across the country. Indeed, Saudi Arabian woman can now be recruited as lance corporals, corporals, sergeants, and staff sergeants in several branches such as the Royal Saudi Land Forces, Royal Saudi Air Force, Royal Saudi Naval Forces, Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces, Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force, and Armed Forces Medical Services.

More and more Saudi women have been breaking into sectors that were once male-dominated, one recent area being the country’s borders. In fact, it was reported in 2019 by this year, up to 70 percent of passport control officers based at key Saudi airports could be women.