Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (CU)_ The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defense has now opened way for woman to join the armed forces. Hence, women can now enter the military of Saudi Arabia, following a rule that paved way for both sexes to enroll via a single admission portal. The armed forces of Saudi Arabia range from soldier to sergeant and includes Saudi Arabian Army, Royal Saudi Air Defense, Royal Saudi Navy, Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force and Armed Forces Medical Services.
All entrants must qualify for the admission procedures based on specified criteria and should possess a clean record and must be healthy and medically fit for service. However, for female candidates, some additional requirements have been included. The age of the woman applicants enrolling for Saudi military should be between 21 and 40 years and must be 155 cm or higher in height and should not be government employees.
Female candidates entering armed forces must also carry an independent national identification card and should possess at least a high school diploma. It will not consider applicants who are married to non-Saudi residents. For the first-time male applicants, the age range is between 17 and 40 and their minimum height is 160 cm. This move is one of the steps by the government to improve women’s rights in the kingdom. In plan was first revealed in 2019.
Halah Al-Ynabawi, specialist in operating systems, noted that the topic of enrolling women in the military has been a contentious problem among Arab countries for the past 30 years. She said, “But today, with the vision of King Salman, he has played a big role with the inclusion of women in all fields — governmental and now military”.
