Social reform is rare bright spot in Saudi economic gloom

RIYADH: Nouf al-Anzy’s new life shows how Saudi Arabia’s social reforms are helping its struggling economy. Six months ago she got her first job, one of tens of thousands of women to do so as the government tackles prejudice against female employment.

The 22-year-old high school graduate earns 4,000 riyals ($1,067) a month as a supermarket cashier in central Riyadh. Her family initially objected but now approves, and the income from the job has been transformative.

“I have good money every month and I am not married and have no obligations. I can go to the cinemas, go shopping, dine out, and take computer and English courses to improve myself,” she said. “I also plan to buy a car to drive.”

Consumer spending by newly employed women like al-Anzy is helping to offset a huge drag on growth from measures to bolster state finances and an exodus of foreign workers.

The extent to which the economy can pick up over the next two years after shrinking last year for the first time since 2009 may depend largely on how much female empowerment and other social reforms can contribute.

Two years after it launched an economic reform programme to cut reliance on oil exports, Saudi Arabia has little to show for it. Plans to spur private investment in new non-oil industries, from shipbuilding to robotics, have barely got off the ground, partly because of red tape and legal uncertainties.
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