Al-Nahda
This organization believes that women can make larger contributions to Saudi society, and wants to empower them to do so, according to their website. Al-Nahda, which is aptly named after a renaissance period in the Arab world, is all about sustainable development. The group has worked on diverse projects ranging from family health, to special needs, social welfare and cultural preservation.
But the group is best known for its work on female employment, trying to bring Saudi women into the workplace and into a more independent life. Still, it doesn’t represent a clean break from tradition, instead emphasizing Islamic law and working on developing women’s role in society within those guidelines.
Al-Nahda was created by the late Queen Effat Al-Thunayan, wife of the late King Faisal Al-Saud, in 1962. She is also the namesake of Effat University, the first women’s-only higher education institute in the country. But it wasn’t just created by a woman, it got off the ground thanks to powerful Saudi women like Princess Sarah Al-Faisal Al-Saud, Princess Lateefah Al-Faisal Al-Saud, Samira Khashoggi and Musaffar Adham.
Mission: Al-Nahda is a non-profit organization that aims to empower women economically and socially through financial support, training and employment services.
Vision: For women to be active partners in the development of Saudi society.
The Khadija Bint Khuwailid Centre
Many Saudi women get university degrees, but have trouble finding work once they graduate. To combat this problem, Khadija Bint Khuwailid Centre offers training to provide them with managerial and real-life skills that will help them get a job or start their own business.
The centre is named after Khadija Bint Khuwailid, the wife of Prophet Muhammad, because she was a successful businesswoman herself, and is seen as a role model for many Muslim women. Though based in Jeddah, the centre’s founder has traveled across the country seeking to empower women to use their education.
Nadia Baeshen founded the centre in 1998. Seven years earlier, as the vice-dean of the Business and Economics College, she saw many promising students graduate and then go home, unable (or unwilling) to find work. Recognizing that this was a major issue, she worked with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry to create the Khadija Bint Khuwailid Centre.
“Women have to push the envelope to overcome the rules and regulations that are hindering them,” she told Arab News. Even after she left the centre, they continued to do so with Basma Omeir, one of the most powerful lobbyists in the Kingdom, at the helm.
Mission: To help qualify businesswomen for work through business and real-life skill training.
Vision: To accomplish change by training women.
