RIYADH: Several Saudi women lawyers lauded the government on International Women’s Day this week for helping females advance their careers in the legal profession.

The lawyers are members of a Riyadh-based forum, part of the Saudi Bar Association’s training academy, which has a joint agreement with the Ministry of Education’s agency overseeing the awarding of scholarships to prepare women for the workplace. The program is titled “Your Job and Your Mission” and allows law firms to develop their staff.

Sara Abdulhameed Naji, senior legal consultant at Naji Khairan Law firm, told Arab News: “On this day, we celebrate women in all professions, especially a female lawyer, because she is a great and strong woman.”

Naji said that women working in the profession have a great deal to offer society, apart from their roles at home. Women have now taken up senior legal roles, which was not the case five years ago.

“I am very happy because I am a lawyer, sister of a lawyer, and a daughter of a lawyer … I conclude by saying women could not have reached this point in their accomplishments without the support of the wise leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the support of their families behind them as well. And I thank the women in the profession for all their efforts.”

The women’s forum is dedicated solely to the advancement of females at all levels in the profession, including students at higher education institutions in Riyadh. They have worked with various bodies since the Saudi government announced its plans to transform the judiciary.

Among the initiatives taken up was the Legal Volunteer Marathon, during which lawyers and legal advisors offered their time for free, running from International Law Day on Sept. 13 until the Kingdom’s National Day on Sept. 23.

The services they provided included legal aid to the needy, advice to budding entrepreneurs, running community awareness programs, and training for new graduates. Established lawyers have been urged to support these initiatives by registering as volunteers on the Saudi Bar Association website.

Al-Jouhara Alonazi, who works for a law firm in documentation and commercial arbitration in Riyadh, and is a member of the national bar association, told Arab News that the women’s forum was set up to aid young female lawyers with their studies and career advancement. In addition, its aim is to find new leaders for the profession at a national level that can work with legal and civil society bodies in the regions to defend women’s issues in general.