Empowering Women Economically in Al-Kamil Governorate Saudi Arabia: Between Reality and Hope

Background/Objectives: The objectives of this study are as follows: • To throw light on the concepts of economic empowerment of women. • To know the reality of the economic empowerment of women in Al-Kamil Governorate and the obstacles it faces. • Providing practical recommendations based on the results of the study supports the vision and direction of the Kingdom of 2030 in terms of achieving the highest rates of economic sustainability. Methods/Statistical Analysis: Depends on the use of statistical analysis methods to identify and analyze the levels of economic empowerment of women in Al-Kamil Governorate. To achieve the above objectives, the present study is based on the following main hypothesis test: There are still obstacles to the economic empowerment of women in the province of Kamel. In this study, we relied on the use of descriptive and analytical descriptive methods to achieve research objectives. The required data were obtained by designing a questionnaire that represents the main source of data as it was distributed to the study population. This questionnaire consists of a single axis consisting of 15 paragraphs. Findings: Two of main findings of this study can be illustrated in the following points: • The results showed that there are obstacles to the economic empowerment of women in Al-Kamil Governorate. In contrast, there is a difference of views regarding the identification of obstacles and challenges facing women’s economic empowerment. • Based on the results of the analysis, women are still facing difficulties in accessing resources and do not have control over them, which impedes their economic empowerment. Women’s ownership of resources is necessary to achieve their economic empowerment. Improvements/Applications: Reflect the reality of the economic empowerment of women in the study community and the measures that must be taken to enhance the empowerment of women in the governorate.


Introduction
It is agreed that the objective of women's economic empowerment is to integrate them into economic and social programs in proportion to the need of society. Women's economic empowerment began in the early 1990s through the recommendations of the Fourth Women's Conference in Beijing in 1995, which called for the elimination of all obstacles that impede the economic empowerment of women so that they can exercise their economic role and interact with all economic issues and policies by increasing their opportunities. In education and training programs, granting them the right to own and exploit resources, in addition to political participation and in accordance with the development and gender approach, women is fundamental to the development plan, not an additional element.
The fact that two women cannot be different is that women are half the society and without their participation and activating their role, society loses Vol 12 (18) | May 2019 | www.indjst.org half of its possibilities. On the other hand, many Arab countries have achieved remarkable achievements in order to empower women economically, but there are still many obstacles that prevent the promotion of women's economic and political role. However, there are still social and cultural barriers hindering women's economic empowerment in rural areas in general and in the governorate of Al-Kamil, Especially women in these regions often face more difficulties than men as unequally treated with men 1 .
Women's economic empowerment is one of the most important issues that remain the top priority of the Kingdom's economic plans and is one of the pillars of the National Strategy (2030) for the advancement of women and the enhancement of their role. Despite the efforts made by the Kingdom to promote the economic role of women, there are many obstacles to participation in the economic development activities in Al-Kamil Governorate in particular. They continue to live in a conservative traditional environment that suffers from gender discrimination, Participation in decision-making in its various forms. In light of the above, the problem of the study is summarized in the following question: What is the reality of women's economic empowerment in Al-Kamil Governorate? The objectives of this study are as follows: • Eliminate light on the concepts of economic empowerment of women. • To know the reality of the economic empowerment of women in Al-Kamil Governorate and the obstacles it faces. • Providing practical recommendations based on the results of the study supports the vision and direction of the Kingdom of 2030 in terms of achieving the highest rates of economic sustainability. The most recent qualitative shift in the concept of economic empowerment is Bowen and Lawler's 1995 approach to the empowerment equation, which emphasizes the importance of fundamentals, which are essential elements for successful empowerment in all fields. This equation is as follows: Empowerment = Knowledge × Rewards × Bowen × Lawler, the combination of the four preceding elements shows the success of the empowerment strategy. In the case of any of these elements equal to zero, the total empowerment score is equal to zero 2 .
Most definitions have linked the economic concept of empowerment to the issues and programs of sustainable economic development. The most important definition of economic empowerment can be mentioned in the following: The process that leads to a change in the different structures of the environment in which human beings live, including the need to have confidence in the development of oneself and how to choose the optimal alternative from Among available alternatives 3 .
In view of the importance of the role of women in development and society, the concepts of women's economic empowerment were varied. The most important of these was the definition of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which defined the economic empowerment of women as means women's economic opportunities, such as employment opportunities, self-employment, women's entrepreneurship in all fields, promotion of decent work and opportunities 4 .

Indicators of Economic Empowerment of Women
Since the economic empowerment of women is a continuous process and it is difficult to calculate it, therefore it was necessary to identify indicators to measure the economic empowerment of women and these measures are: • First indicator (property): The purpose of this measure is to assess the extent of women's ownership and freedom of material assets and resources. Women's ownership of resources is essential for their economic empowerment, as women can control assets and increase their investment capital. We can assume that the more women are granted access to and ownership of resources, the greater their ability to control their income independently of men. • The second indicator (financial resources): This indicator is intended to know the financial aspects related to the economic empowerment of women and we can say that women are economically empowered if they have access to financial resources, which increase and support their contribution to economic growth. • The Indicator 3 (Education): This indicator measures the entire educational environment, not only for enrollment rates, but also for existing constraints that limit women's access to the various degrees of education. It is worth mentioning that the index of education is linked to a reciprocal relationship with the index of freedom, time use and the legal environment.
• The Indicator 4 (Continuing Education and Training): Explains women's access to training courses to develop themselves and increase their skills, as well as the obstacles to women's access to education and training. Also note that women's access to training depends on their financial ability to pay course fees and freedom Mobility inside and outside its surroundings and how to exploit it for its time. Training and development are essential for women's economic empowerment. • The Indicator 5 (Labor): Women's economic ability or inability to depend depends largely on the employment opportunities available to them and women's access to the labor market in their environment and the extent to which they receive equal pay with men is a prerequisite for achieving the economic empowerment of women. This indicator is very important, but there are some customs and traditions in some areas prevent the exploitation of women themselves away from the husband or family, as dependence on others affects their own estimation and manufacture. • The Indicator 9: The legal environment is an essential element for the economic empowerment of women in all countries of the world. Without laws and supportive environment that encourage and enable women economically, the opportunities available to them will be very limited. Legal support for women. • The Indicator 10 (freedom of movement): Women's freedom of movement is necessary for their economic empowerment, because this indicator is directly related to their educational achievement and their ability to work and exploit the jobs available in different regions. This indicator is heavily influenced by cultural traditions and traditions, especially in Arab countries. • The Indicator XI (Time Use): This measure relates to how women can use their time to reconcile their responsibilities as mother and wife, with their other roles as leadership, student or employee.
The objective of women's economic empowerment is to empower their participation in the decisionmaking process by expanding the opportunities, options, alternatives and possibilities available to them. Effective participation requires the development of women in their own right and the development of their abilities, skills and potentials so that they can possess the strengths of knowledge and self-confidence and their ability to work collectively so that they can influence and carry out the process of change in their society. It is also a tool to help them unleash their creative and productive potential for sustainable growth and development.
The economic empowerment of women consists of three aspects: Resources, such as education and employment and the necessity of empowerment; the human agent, which is the pillar of empowerment and the third aspect; achievements, which are the economic gains made by women. All these components are indicators to measure the success of the empowerment process. Three mechanisms contribute to the success of women's economic empowerment: Increasing economic opportunities for women -Providing decent work opportunities for women -Increasing the participation of women in decision-making and economic policy development 5 .
Challenges of Women's Economic Empowerment; the following points can be summarized: in the lack of access to women in the economic sphere. • Limited markets. In most Arab countries, women working in small enterprises complain of low demand for their products, and many factors restrict women's access to markets.

Research Methodology
The practical aspect of this article depends on the use of statistical analysis methods to identify and analyze the levels of economic empowerment of women in Al-Kamil Governorate. To achieve the above objectives, the present study is based on the following main hypothesis test: There are still obstacles to the economic empowerment of women in the province of Kamel. In this study, we relied on the use of descriptive and analytical descriptive methods to achieve research objectives. The required data were obtained by designing a questionnaire that represents the main source of data as it was distributed to the study population. This questionnaire consists of a single axis consisting of 15 paragraphs, which are indicators of economic empowerment of women, which we aim to measure and stand at the levels of the study community.
The sample and sample of the study: Women in Al-Kamil Governorate. The number of respondents who answered the questionnaire questions was 38 as a random sample of 45 questionnaires distributed to educated women in the governorate. The study variables are represented by the indicators of women's economic empowerment are explained in advance.
We processed and analyzed the data using the statistical program (SPSS). The analysis included: • Calculate the Kronbach alpha coefficient in the reliability analysis to verify the reliability and consistency of the questionnaire. • Calculating and estimating the indicators of the questionnaire.

Numerical Results
First: Measuring Stability and Veracity of the Questionnaire: To measure the stability of women's economic empowerment indicators, we use the Alpha Kronbach coefficient 6 and the result is as follows: The calculation of the truth by the square root of the Alpha Kronbach. Note that the Alpha-Kronbach coefficient is 0.811, which is a high value and the number of phrases is 15 7,8 . Second: The hypothesis of the study: There are still obstacles to the economic empowerment of women in the province of full. The test included the following: Regarding the analysis of personal data: The results of the analysis revealed that the majority of the respondents who answered the questionnaires of their professional qualifications are bachelor's and their ages are between 30-39 years old and the vast majority work as teachers at different stages 9,10 .
With regards to the analysis of Questionnaire Questions (Economic Empowerment Indicators), it is shown the following important indicators: -Indicator 1 Ownership: (In your opinion, women have access to resources and have the ability to dispose of them). The results of the analysis were as follows: Table 1.
We conclude from the previous Table 2 that most of the sample of the sample confirmed by 50% that women cannot access the resources and do not have the ability to dispose of them.
With regards to the second question of finance resources, (As a Saudi woman, do you feel that it is easy for you to access financial services such as loans and grants) and the results of the analysis are as follows: -We conclude from the previous Table 3 that most of the sample of the study sample (39.47%) affirm that it is likely that women in Al-Kamil will receive their share of financial resources such as grants and loans, like any Saudi woman.   Indicator 3 Education: (Do you think that the rate of enrollment of women in the different stages, disciplines, grants. more than men) and the following table shows the results of the analysis: We conclude from the previous Table 4 that most of the samples of the study sample by 44.47 confirm that the rate of enrollment of women in different stages is greater than men, which means that women receive more education than men. Potential economic, political and social risks. Indicator 4 Continuing education and training (in your opinion, are there adequate opportunities for the development and vocational training of women? Capacity building, guidance), the Table 5 shows the results of the analysis of this question: Of the results of the previous table, most of the sample of the sample at 23.68 confirm that the training, development and capacity-building opportunities available in the governorate are inadequate compared to the high rate of educational attainment as revealed by the results of the previous question Indicator 5 Work: (Do you think that the employment opportunities available to women, self-employment opportunities are enough). The results of the table analysis showed that most of the samples (47.37%) of the study sample believe that the chances of full employment for Saudi women and self-employment opportunities are not enough at present, despite the high rate of women's education in the governorate. Indicator 6 Income: (If you are an employee or work for your own business, do you consider that you have the right to dispose of the income you receive), and the results are as in the Table 6.
We conclude from the results of the analysis in the previous Table 7 that most of the sample of the study and a very high percentage emphasize that women in the province can fully manage the income they get if they are employees or work in private projects.  As is clear in the above Table 8, the majority of the sample of the study sample, with 37.47%, affirms that women in the governorate are not at all able to make decisions according to their opinions and not participate in it. Indicator 10 Freedom of movement: (can you navigate without obstacles within your local and external community) and the result of the analysis is as shown in the Table 9.
From the Table 10, most respondents in the sample (37.47) said that women can sometimes move without obstacles within their local and external communities, while others see 34.21 that women cannot move alone without accompanying men.  Indicator 11 Use of time: (Can you control your time in your workplace and does the institution where you operate work disaggregated by gender?) It is clear from the results of the analysis in the Table 11 and 50% that women working in the governorate can control their time in their work environment and that the institution they work in is working to divide the work based on sex and differences between men and women. Indicator 12 Do you think that your multiple responsibilities as a woman inside and outside your home limit your ability to develop both professionally and practically. The following Table 12 the results of the analysis of this question: It is clear from the results of the analysis in the previous Table 13 that most respondents (42.11%) believe that the multiple responsibilities of women within their external and internal environment do not limit their ability to develop professionally and professionally if they have the opportunity.  The following Table 14 shows the results of the analysis of this question.
We conclude from the results of the analysis in the previous Table 15 that most of the sample of the study sample (60.53%) affirms that the economic empowerment of women in Al-Kamil Governorate is very important. This means that women are aware of the importance of their economic empowerment and the importance of their role as an essential element in sustainable development.  Indicator 14 In your belief, does the Saudi government work to empower women economically? According to the results of the analysis, as shown in the Table 16, most of the study sample and more than 60% believe that the Saudi government may be working to economically empower women in Al-Kamil Governorate. However, it appears from the results of the analysis that the fruits of this empowerment have not yet been clearly demonstrated, itself. Question 15: In your belief, is there a positive and promising environment for women's economic empowerment in Al-Kamil Governorate? The results of the analysis of this question are as follows: It is clear from the results of the analysis of the previous table that 31.58% of respondents in the study sample confirm that there is a positive and promising environment towards women's economic empowerment in Al-Kamil Governorate, while 21.05% believe otherwise, i.e. there is no environment that encourages women's economic empowerment. And perhaps this belief is due to their knowledge of the nature of the geographical area in terms of difficult access to the difficulty of women's access to resources.

Conclusion and Recommendation
The concept of economic empowerment of women has been of great interest at all levels and in Saudi Arabia in particular to achieve the vision of the Kingdom of 2030 as an integral part of the comprehensive and sustainable development efforts. This study is an initial attempt to identify the reality of the economic empowerment of women in Al-Kamil Governorate, as it is very important in the process of sustainable growth as an example and a very important element in economic, social and political activities. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher began a simplified account of the theoretical aspect of the subject in order to benefit from the theoretical background regarding the concept of economic empowerment of women and benefit from the theoretical aspect in determining the variables of the study. The applied side included the analysis and interpretation of the questionnaire, which was designed to collect the necessary data to achieve the objectives of the study and test its hypothesis. The number of women who answered questionnaires was 38 in Kamil Governorate. We then analyzed the questionnaire to test the hypothesis of the study and reach results that reflect the reality of the economic empowerment of women in the study community and the measures that must be taken to enhance the empowerment of women in the governorate.
A variety of indicators have been used. The main findings of this study can be illustrated in the following points: Vol 12 (18) | May 2019 | www.indjst.org • The results showed that there are obstacles to the economic empowerment of women in Al-Kamil Governorate. In contrast, there is a difference of views regarding the identification of obstacles and challenges facing women's economic empowerment. • Based on the results of the analysis, women are still facing difficulties in accessing resources and do not have control over them, which impedes their economic empowerment. Women's ownership of resources is necessary to achieve their economic empowerment. • Despite the high rate of educational attainment in full among women, but there are obstacles to women's access to opportunities training and courses that inspire and develop their capabilities and help in economic empowerment, as training, rehabilitation and development is very important and an effective component to achieve the economic empowerment of women. The work available to them is very small compared to men and women's work and their equal pay for men is a condition for achieving women's economic empowerment. • The results indicated that women have the freedom to dispose of their income, independent of men and have full confidence in themselves and the ability to achieve themselves if they have opportunities within their surroundings in the future, meaning that women in the province may not have confidence and cannot achieve themselves away from men which stands in front of economic empowerment. • Until now, women in the governorate do not have equal legal status with men in terms of laws and equal opportunities. The legal environment is very necessary for their economic empowerment and the absence of supporting laws affects all indicators of empowerment negatively and impedes women's access to resources. Perhaps due to reasons related to customs and traditions in the region or the nature of the geographical area or the lack of a legal environment supportive of it. • Regarding time use, the answers were very positive, as the majority of women felt that they could balance home and work responsibilities. • The results confirmed that despite the multiple responsibilities of women within the environment, this does not limit the ability to develop in practice and professionally if it has the opportunity and the majority of women fully assert that economic empowerment is necessary and very important for women to maintain so that they can participate in the efforts of comprehensive development and implementation of the Kingdom plan For the year 2030. • Despite the efforts exerted by the Kingdom to empower women economically, there are many obstacles that still exist in the province of the full economic empowerment of women. As there is a supportive environment for the economic empowerment of women, it is possible and hoped that these obstacles will be overcome with the assistance of the competent authorities and the provision of support and assistance to women. Despite the efforts exerted by the Kingdom in recent years, especially about increasing the economic, social and political participation of women in Al-Kamil Governorate in particular, the economic empowerment of women is still not expected according to the results of this study.
• Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the needs of the region according to each indicator of women's economic empowerment. • Develop a strategic plan on how to enhance the economic empowerment of women in the governorate in the coming years. • Activating the role of women's institutions in the governorate and providing them with capacity building to ensure a vision regarding the empowerment of women economically. • Provide support to the concerned parties to achieve the economic empowerment of women in full. • To fully assist women in overcoming the challenges created by customs and traditions by conducting gender-related information campaigns (male and female). By focusing in these campaigns on the benefits of women's economic empowerment. • Donors and civil society organizations should adopt development projects aimed at the full economic empowerment of women. • Provide women with full information on how to access financial resources and their requirements. • Provide specialized institutes and centers for the training and rehabilitation of women in the province of Kamil. • Provide a legal environment supportive of women and supportive so that they can exploit themselves, access to resources, asset ownership, freedom of movement and access to suitable jobs within and outside their region, which will eventually eliminate the obstacles to the economic empowerment of women in Al-Kamil.