Madinah leads the way with the first all-women city council

The first all-women city council is to be established in Madinah to provide women with complete municipal services and invest in their creative competencies, the Madinah municipality announced.
This step, which aims to empower women, is in line with the goals and aspirations of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020.
Municipal services provided by the council will include issuing licenses for all commercial activities, issuing building permits, providing surveillance services for women’s activities and investments, and many other municipal services that women may need.
The secretary of the Madinah region, Mohammed Al-Amri, said: “The idea of establishing an all-women city council springs from women’s efficiency and competency.”
The official said: “It will serve as a bridge to facilitate work, improve productivity, and increase speed and efficiency.
“The city council will also act as an incubator for women’s creative ideas. And we will work on establishing similar all-women city councils in other provinces.”
He pointed out that among the leading supporters of such initiatives is Municipal and Rural Affairs Minister Abdul Latif bin Abdulmalik Al-Shaykh.
Businesswoman Arwa Turkistani told Arab News that “establishing an all-women city council will help businesswomen in Madinah complete procedures related to their businesses in a shorter time.”
Positive step
She added: “This will also support the economic movement and encourage businesswomen to expand their businesses.”
Eman Natheef, another businesswoman, said it was “a positive step toward achieving the goals of Vision 2030, especially in terms of empowering women and turning them into active players in the sustainable development process.
“This step will also help women, and especially businesswomen, overcome many obstacles and challenges.”