'This is not a joke':
Saudi officials mocked online for launching girls' council WITHOUT ANY GIRLS (as they are 'kept out of sight in another room')
A photograph of the Qassim Girls Council, featuring 13 men and not a single woman
The snap of 13 robed men on a stage has been ridiculed online by dozens
It is reported that the women were kept in another room and spoke via video
Saudi Arabia has strict segregation laws regarding unrelated men and women
It is the only country where women are not allowed to drive
Picture of the Qassim Girls' Council has emerged featuring no women at all
Saudi officials have been mocked for launching a Girls' Council without any girls at the launch.
It was meant to be an initiative to show the world the kingdom had moved on from oppressing women's rights, but when the Qassim Girls' Council was formed, the authorities appeared to have omitted a key ingredient at the launch event.
Instead 13 men introduced the initiative on stage, while it was reported the women were kept out of site in another room and contributed via video link.
The picture of the group of men on stage has sparked a wave of criticism online
Prince Faisal bin Mishal bin Saud, al-Qassim's governor, spearheaded the launch, and even said he was proud to be a part of the first initiative of its kind in Saudi Arabia.
'In the Qassim region, we look at women as sisters to men, and we feel a responsibility to open up more and more opportunities that will serve the work of women and girls,'he said, according to the BBC.
Rana Harbi posted the picture with the caption: 'This is not a joke. I repeat, not a joke. The first meeting of the first "Girls Council" in Saudi Arabia.'
Fellow writer did the same with a caption reading: 'Satire? Comedy? No.
'This is actually happening: The very first meeting of the first "Girls Council" in Saudi Arabia... with ZERO girls.'
Jonathan Nicholas poked fun at Saudi Arabia's track record of women's rights, by saying: 'Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia the Qassim Girls Council meets again to discuss women's issues.
'Too important for women to be involved obviously.'
A Twitter user calling himself Maytham joked: 'Meeting of Qassim Girls Council Saudi Arabia.
'I did not know that Saudi girls have beards.
'Gillette can make lots of business there.'
The council is meant to be chaired by Princess Abir bint Salman, the prince's wife, but she does not feature in any of the photographs.
Saudi Arabia, which has strict segregation laws regarding unrelated men and women, is aiming for a major boost in female employment in the conservative Islamic kingdom but women need not go to an office, the labour ministry said on Monday.
'Telework' and work from home will generate up to 141,000 jobs by 2020, providing 'decent and proper' employment particularly for women and the disabled, the ministry said in a statement.
The term 'telework' applies to a variety of jobs done remotely outside of a company's office.
Under its Vision 2030 reform plan the kingdom, led by Saudi King Salman, wants to get more women working
As part of a wide-ranging social and economic reform drive to cope with lower oil revenues, Saudi Arabia is trying to get more women working.
But the ministry statement acknowledged 'a lot of social obstacles including transportation and family responsibilities' that hinder female labour market participation.
Saudi Arabia is the only country where women are not allowed to drive. Public transport is also limited, restricting mobility for those unable to afford a private driver.
The ministry said telework would also benefit those in remote parts of the kingdom where employment is even harder to find, but it gave no details of who exactly is going to create the 141,000 jobs.
Under its Vision 2030 reform plan the kingdom wants to boost the role of small and medium enterprises as well as broaden its industrial and investment base.
In the third quarter of last year the unemployment rate for Saudi women was 34.5 percent, compared with 5.7 percent for Saudi men, according to figures cited by the firm Jadwa Investment.
By 2020 the kingdom wants to boost the proportion of women in the workforce to 28 percent from 23 percent last year.
According to official data, at the end of 2015 the Saudi public sector employed 469,000 women while another 500,000 worked in the private sector, which the government wants to expand while reducing its own payroll.
(The Mail, UK)
