Melania Trump, US First Lady, and Ivanka Trump, the daughter of the US President interacted with the Saudi women. The attending of roundtable conference showcases the commitment of the two women towards Saudi women empowerment.
The US First Lady was all praise for the Saudi women empowerment at the General Electric only female service center. She also reiterated the fact that women in Saudi Arabia need to work together.
Here is how she expressed her experience interacting with Saudi women on Twitter.
A Picture to Showcase Saudi Women Empowerment
The US First Lady, to show her support for Saudi women empowerment, took a picture with them. The picture shoes Melania Trump in a knee-length dress with seven other Saudi Women wearing abayas or hijabs.
The Western world sees Saudi Arabia as a nation where women do not get equal treatment as men. Despite the overall notion of empowering women, there was no such mention of displeasure by the First Lady.
Ivanka Trump on Saudi Women Empowerment
During her time in Saudi Arabia, Ivanka Trump also appreciated the focus of Saudi Arabia on women empowerment. Hence, she was happy with the recent progress on giving rights to women. However, she did mention that Saudi Arabia still needs to do a lot of work.
Furthermore, she said that the success stories of women in attendance inspire her. Also, she stated that these stories make her imagine of more women empowerment in the world.
On this occasion, Ivanka Trump also introduced Jim Yong Kim from of the World Bank. Jim Yong Kim has said that KSA and UAE are pledging $100 million for women’s empowerment.
Melania Trump also went to American International School of Riyadh (only co-education Institute in KSA. She gave away Dr. Seuss books to the preschool class.
Saudi’s Progress Towards Women Empowerment
The progress in the Saudi women empowerment still has a lot of room for improvement. The ban on driving and making it a social taboo remains an issue. The Saudi women recently protested against driving ban in their way.
Manal Al Sharif, one of the few Saudi women who challenged the driving ban against women in Saudi Arabia. In her TED talk, she shared her entire experience of dealing with this ban. Manal Al Sharif also discussed the effects of this driving ban on women’s life.
Saudi Arabia has world’s largest women-only university named Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University. Therefore, the only co-education university in KSA is King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. KSA universities also offer women technology education, and many women’s colleges offer distant learning programs too.
