From Opposition to Girls’ Schooling to 300 Colleges and Institutes and 2.5 Million Female Students
Anyone who traces the history of women’s education in Saudi Arabia will encounter numerous indicators reflecting the leadership’s deep concern for educating women as a vital pillar in building society. These indicators include the support for establishing women’s kuttab schools during the reign of King Abdulaziz Al Saud to teach women the fundamentals of their religion and daily life, the introduction of formal girls’ education in 1379 AH, and the comprehensive educational renaissance that followed—transforming women into active partners in national development in accordance with Islamic teachings and human nature.
The kuttab—the traditional school for teaching reading and writing—was one of the most important educational institutions developed by Muslim societies to teach children and raise them upon sound Islamic principles. For centuries, Muslims relied on kuttab schools to teach the Qur’an, Hadith, reading, and writing. This tradition continued into the early years of the modern Saudi state, eventually evolving into semi‑formal schools, then public schools, and later into a diverse system of higher education.
Despite King Abdulaziz’s preoccupation with unifying the country and establishing its internal and external systems, he never neglected the importance of enhancing women’s status in society in accordance with Islamic values. He supported the establishment of more than 180 kuttab schools for women, in addition to those that existed before his reign, which many women joined to learn religious and practical knowledge.
Princesses during King Abdulaziz’s era also showed great interest in religious scholarship. They contributed to its dissemination by dedicating their collections of manuscripts and classical jurisprudential works as charitable endowments for students of knowledge. Among them was Princess Hassa bint Ahmed Al‑Sudairi, wife of the Founder, who endowed the manuscript Al‑Furū‘ fi al‑Fiqh by the Hanbali scholar Shams al‑Din Ibn Muflih (d. 763 AH). Similar endowments were made by Sarah bint Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abdulwahhab, the daughters of Imam Turki ibn Abdullah, and the daughters of Imam Faisal ibn Turki—copies of which are preserved at the King Abdulaziz Foundation.
The kuttab schools were a blessing for Saudi women of that era, enabling both young and older women to learn religious and worldly knowledge appropriate to their age and circumstances. Dr. Dalal bint Mukhlid Al‑Harbi, historian and member of the Shura Council, explained that kuttab schools in King Abdulaziz’s time focused on teaching older women who had been occupied with household responsibilities and the hardships of life. They learned the Qur’an, memorized its shorter surahs, and studied Hadith and basic jurisprudence.
She added, in remarks to the Saudi Press Agency, that kuttab schools also taught young girls who shared with their families the burdens of early life and limited resources. Their education helped shape the future of the nation, as they would become the mothers and educators of future generations. Girls learned Qur’anic studies, Hadith, and basic literacy, and over the years many transitioned into the semi‑formal schools that later spread across the Kingdom.
Dr. Al‑Harbi noted that King Abdulaziz’s influence on the development of women’s education was evident. She cited a historical document showing that he supported a developmental proposal submitted to the Shura Council on 21 Safar 1350 AH to improve women’s kuttab schools in the Hijaz, expand them, and provide them with assistance.
Alongside this, many female scholars in the Arabian Peninsula dedicated themselves to teaching women religious knowledge, especially in Makkah and Madinah due to the presence of the Two Holy Mosques. According to Dr. Suad bint Ahmed Al‑Omari, professor of Islamic cultural history at King Saud University, many female scholars designated rooms in their homes as kuttab spaces for women to learn and memorize the Qur’an. During the reign of the Founder, there were more than 180 such schools across the country, including 70 in the Hijaz alone.
Women’s education later progressed to the stage of private and charitable semi‑formal schools, most of which were located in the Hijaz. It then transitioned to formal education with the establishment of the General Presidency for Girls’ Education, created by royal decree issued by King Saud bin Abdulaziz on 2/4/1379 AH. The Presidency oversaw nurseries, kindergartens, primary, intermediate, and secondary schools, sewing and tailoring training centers, vocational secondary institutes, Qur’an memorization schools, special education, intermediate colleges, literacy programs, private education, higher education, as well as health care, transportation, and social services.
The royal decree establishing girls’ schools was published in Umm Al‑Qura newspaper on 21 Rabi‘ al‑Akhir 1379 AH. It emphasized teaching religious sciences and other subjects consistent with Islamic principles and beneficial to women in managing their homes and raising their children. The decree was warmly welcomed by the Saudi public, as reflected in statements published in Umm Al‑Qura on 28 Rabi‘ al‑Akhir 1379 AH, expressing joy and affirming that the decision would help women better build their families and society.
Today, as a continuation of the leadership’s support for women’s education, more than 2.5 million female students are enrolled in various stages of general education, taught by 300,750 female teachers in 18,710 girls’ schools across the Kingdom. In higher education, 192,515 women are enrolled in bachelor’s programs and 24,498 in graduate studies, distributed across more than 300 colleges and institutes. Women constitute 51.8% of students in public universities and 49% in private universities, and they represent more than one‑third of the King Abdullah Scholarship Program’s international students, according to Ministry of Education statistics.
To document these important milestones in the history of women’s education, the King Abdulaziz Foundation recently completed the installation of 225 glass display cases at the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Library in Riyadh. These cases contain historical materials related to women’s education from the First Saudi State (founded in 1157 AH) up to the beginning of formal education in 1379 AH. The Foundation, through its Manuscripts Center and the King Salman Center for Restoration and Preservation, completed the project in 11 months, including collecting, examining, restoring, disinfecting, and binding the materials to ensure their preservation for years to come.