Saudi women take part in National Day parade for first time

Agencies | Riyadh

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Women took part in the annual Saudi National Day military parade for the first time in the Kingdom’s history on Thursday. Female soldiers of different ranks marched in the hour-long parade for Saudi Arabia’s 91st National Day. The Ministry of Interior and the General Entertainment Authority jointly held the events in Riyadh and Jeddah.

Saudi nationals and residents had come out in hundreds waving national flags to cheer the soliders as they marched on. Saudi National Day is celebrated annually on September 23 to mark the renaming of the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 following a royal decree from King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud. The GEA had organised dozens of activities and events to mark the occasion, which began on Thursday and ends today. In February, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence announced that women could now apply for positions in the military through their unified admission portal.