Belgium has become the first country to appoint a female ambassador to Saudi Arabia in spite of the Gulf nation’s shocking women’s rights record.
Dominique Mineur will move to Riyhad to head up the embassy from next year in a ‘clear signal’ to Saudi officials.
Newly-appointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has promised to modernise the kingdom and has abolished the law that prohibits women from driving.
But Saudi Arabia still lags behind the rest of the modern world when it comes to equality.
Dominique Mineur (back, left) will move to Riyhad to head up the embassy from next year in a ‘clear signal’ to Saudi officials
Mineur is currently based in the United Arab Emirates, according to Belgian broadcaster VRT, but will head for the Saudi capital in the summer.
Last Monday, Saudi Arabia lifted a decades-long ban on cinemas, part of a series of social reforms by the powerful crown prince that are shaking up the ultra-conservative kingdom.
‘Commercial cinemas will be allowed to operate in the kingdom as of early 2018, for the first time in more than 35 years,’ the culture and information ministry said in a statement, adding that the government will begin licensing cinemas immediately.
Mineur (left) is currently based in the United Arab Emirates but will head for the Saudi capital in the summer
Reviving cinemas would represent a paradigm shift in the kingdom, which is promoting entertainment as part of a sweeping reform plan dubbed ‘Vision 2030’, despite opposition from conservatives.
It follows Prince Salman’s decision to lift the ban on women being able to drive.
Alisha ali-Khan, the UK-based editor for Asian Mums Network and a rights campaigner, hailed the decision, but said Saudi Arabia still has a long way to go before women become full members of society.
Under the system of guardianship in Saudi, every woman must have a male guardian – a father, brother, husband, or even a son – who has the authority to make a range of decisions on her behalf, she explained.
These decisions include the approval to apply for a passport, travel outside the country, study abroad on a government scholarship, get married, or exit prison.
Women regularly face difficulty conducting a range of transactions – from renting an apartment to filing legal claims – without a male relative’s consent or presence.
Women also face challenges making decisions for their children on an equal basis with men and majority of women lose custody of their children following divorce.
Many women therefore have little choice but to stay in abusive marriages and tolerate unjust treatment in order to stop their children being removed from their custody by Saudi law, Ms al-Khan added.
Full, black veils still have to be worn by women in Saudi Arabia when they are in public.
Restaurants are often segregated meaning men and women eat separately, and when women give testimony in court, it is heard by a less powerful figure compared to a man’s evidence.
It is not clear whether the surprise move by King Salman will herald a wider loosening of rules around women’s behaviour in Saudi.
In 2015 women were allowed to vote and stand for the first time in municipal elections, and subsequently won 19 seats.
Full, black veils still have to be worn by women in Saudi Arabia when they are in public
Belgium’s move to post an official in Riyadh is a world first.
Previously, Georgian diplomat Yekaterina Makering Mikadze had Saudi Arabia under her remit as well as a cluster of other countries.
But she was stationed in Kuwait back in 2010, and when the country opened an embassy specifically to deal with Saudi Arabia five years later it was decided to appoint a male ambassador.