Public Lecture on The Education of Women in Saudi Arabia: History and Development

Lecturers and students gathered at the Large Conference Hall to listen to the public lecture of Dr. Chaman Maherukshan Rahman, lecturer at the Dar Al-Hekma University in Jeddah. The topic of the lecture was Education of Women in Saudi Arabia: History and Development. The meeting was implemented by the assistance of Prof. Dr. Antoaneta Vasileva, Dean of the International Economics and Politics Faculty and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivan Stoychev, Head of the International Economic Relations and Business Department on the initiative of the Department.

Dr. Rahman overviewed the historical stages in the development of educational system in Saudi Arabia focusing on the education of women. The lecturer pointed out that unlike the other Arabian countries the system in the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula had been entirely built on the principles and values of Islam. As a result of the government measures stimulating the education the level of literacy in the country had reached 90.4% among men and 82% among women.

Dr. Chaman Rahman (on the left) and Prof. Dr. Antoaneta Vasileva

Now in Saudi Arabia there are 30 000 schools, 27 private and 25 state universities. They are accessible to all citizens and provide free education, scholarships, textbooks, health services for students and lecturers. Dr. Rahman commented also on the budget for the sector, financing of universities, endowment funds, new scholarship programme for education of women from Saudi Arabia abroad, etc.

During the lecture at the Large Conference Hall

Students asked Dr. Rahman questions related to the competitiveness of higher education in Saudi Arabia, international students at the Dar Al-Hekma University in Jeddah, sport facilities, etc.

The audience approved the proposal of Prof. Dr. Antoaneta Vasileva in the next year the UNWE to host the joint simulation of the UN General Assembly presented by students from our university and  Dar Al-Hekma University.

A photo of participants in the event

Short biography:

Dr. Chaman Rahman was born in the town of Assam, India. She has acquired Master`s degree from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and Doctoral degree from Paul Valeri University, Montpellier, France. She has been a scholarship student at the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning. She has a good command of French, Arabic, English, Urdu and Bengali. Currently she is a lecturer on Social Sciences at the Dar Al-Hekma University in Jeddah, the first private university for women in Saudi Arabia founded in 1999. 1600 women are educated there.

In 2007 Dr. Rahman has created a Model of the UN Society – a structure within the Dar Al-Hekma University which annually holds international student conferences and simulations of the work in various UN institutions.