Article and Photos by General Directorate of Strategic Communications, Saudi Ministry of Defense
Two years after Saudi Arabia integrated women into its Armed Forces, the Saudi Ministry of Defense highlighted several of these pioneers in a promotional video for International Women’s Day.
The March 2023 celebrations, titled “A Promising Present/A Bright Future,” illustrated how the ministry is pursuing women’s empowerment in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 national modernization plan.
Among the stars of the video was Maha Al-Muhaya, head of the Department of Therapeutic Medicine in Health Services at the Ministry of Defense. A graduate of Harvard University in the United States and certified by the American Board of Oral Medicine, Al-Muhaya, the first Saudi physician to obtain such a degree, helped establish the Saudi Board Program in Oral Medicine and Diseases.
Three other women from the Ministry of Defense also recounted their stories. Private Ahlam Al-Shehri expressed pride in joining the Military Police.
Entisar Al-Subaie — a graduate of the ministry’s Fakhoor training program — describes her career in the General Directorate of Strategic Communications.
Nouf Al-Mutairi, from Prince Sultan Military Medical City in Riyadh, discusses completing postgraduate studies and becoming the first female military nurse specialist.
The ministry has expanded women’s roles in the military by opening a portal for recruitment so that women and men can apply together for admissions and military jobs. The program encompasses the Navy, Air Force, Land Forces,
Air Defense and Health Services in line with international standards that meet the needs of the Armed Forces and achieve the goals of the ministry.
Since it opened several years ago, the Armed Forces Women’s Cadre Training Centre has graduated 885 women who now occupy positions throughout the military. The centre has conducted 13 courses that include a noncommissioned officer management foundational course, an advanced noncommissioned officer management course and a military police qualification course.
But the contributions of the Ministry of Defense to female empowerment are not limited to military fields. Fakhoor, for example, focuses on nonmilitary administrative jobs, providing candidates with a chance to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees. So successful was Fakhoor at attracting women, they constituted 66% of the training program’s initial graduates.
In the health services of the Ministry of Defense, Saudi women have strengthened this vital and important sector and have contributed to upgrading the overall health system in the kingdom. They have achieved advanced positions globally in the medical sector, with numerous medals being awarded to employees of the Ministry of Defense who contributed medical services to the Yemeni operations Decisive Storm and Restoring Hope.
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