Riyadh - SPA

The Council of Ministers said here Monday that women’s empowerment was taking place at a
rapid pace in the country, with their representation on the Shoura Council, the
country’s legislative advisory body, better than many other countries.
At its weekly Cabinet meeting chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman,
the ministers also highlighted the recent political and economic policy statement
delivered by the king, the country’s anti-graft measures, and impartiality of the
nation’s judiciary.
In a statement, Adel Al-Toraifi, minister of culture and information, said the ministers
pointed out that Saudi Arabia was undergoing a historic process where women were taking
up the highest positions in education, health and industry.
He said women were doing this while maintaining their Islamic and Arab identities. Their
representation in the Shoura Council was higher than many other parliaments abroad, he
said.
Al-Toraifi said the Cabinet also underlined the efforts undertaken by the government to
tackle corruption.
He said several experts, who have been meeting here at a major anti-graft conference,
have commended the country for its initiatives. They maintain that Saudi Arabia is the
regional leader in measures to root out corruption, he said.
The meeting also reiterated that the country has an independent and impartial judicial
system based on Islamic law, which protects the rights of all citizens.
The Saudi government has in recent weeks slammed those criticizing its judiciary over
the way it handled a case involving a Saudi blogger convicted of insulting Islam. Al-
Toraifi said that freedom of expression is guaranteed for everyone within the framework
of Islamic law.
Meanwhile, he said that Crown Prince Muqrin, deputy premier, briefed the meeting on the
outcome of the Sharm El-Sheikh conference last week that raised billions of riyals to
support the Egyptian economy.