Riyadh, November 24, 2019, SPA -- Women’s rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have seen an unprecedented transformation, thanks to the historical decisions made under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, said Dr. Awwad Alawwad, President of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) in his opening speech at a symposium on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women organized by HRC. His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense has accorded high priority to women’s rights, affirmed Dr. Alawwad. Among over 60 decisions made to improve the situation of human rights in the Kingdom, 22 were related to women. These included, among other things, issuing such laws as the Protection from Abuse Law and the Anti-Harassment Law, eliminating the guardianship system, allowing women to drive, ensuring greater female participation in the workforce, especially the legal sphere, dedicating a call center for domestic violence issues, establishing the Family Affairs Council, one of whose committees is devoted to women’s affairs, and setting up courts within the personal status courts for family cases, explained Dr. Alawwad. Violence against women is one of the most persistent and widespread forms of human rights abuse in the world according to UN estimates, most of which is unreported. Dr. Alawwad thinks this is due to reasons such as the absence of punishment and silence about violence. Being aware of this, Dr. Alawwad continued, we as peoples, countries, and organizations should be prompted to take serious steps to responsibly combat this phenomenon. Women are the fundamental basis of every successful society, said Dr. Alawwad, because they instill in our future generations the values necessary to build strong societies. --SPA 11:09 LOCAL TIME 08:09 GMT 0004 www.spa.gov.sa/w1215590