Saudi Arabia appoints first female minister

[lovedesire]

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia appointed the country's
first female cabinet official on Saturday as part of a
wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle.

Saudi King Abdullah appointed Nour Fayez
as deputy minister for women's education, in a move
considered a milestone in Saudi Arabia, a country in
which women only started to vote five years ago.

In the religiously conservative country, women are
banned from driving, and rights groups have frequently
condemned the legal status and treatment of women.

The country, governed via a strict interpretation of
Islamic law, prevents unrelated women and men from
mixing in public. Women only make up to five percent
of the workforce in Saudi Arabia, the lowest proportion
in the world.

Woman beheads eve teaser

The cabinet reshuffle included changes in economic,
justice and information ministers. The reshuffle - a rare
event in the Saudi government - is the first since the
King took office in 2005.

Changes also included the appointment of
Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Muhammad as minister
of education and the appointment of
Faisal bin Moamar as the deputy minister of education.

The king appointed Muhammad al-Jasser as head of the
Central Bank replacing Hamad al-Siyyari. Former
Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Abdul-Aziz Khuga was
appointed minister of culture and information
replacing Iyyad Madani.

Among the changes was the appointment of General
Abdul Rahman al-Murshid of as land forces commander.
Sheikh Mohamed Essa was appointed as the
new minister of justice.