DAMMAM, 20 January 2006 — Recognizing the need for more opportunities for women, a prominent Saudi businessman has embarked on a program to create more jobs for them.
During a seminar held two weeks ago, Gasan Al-Nimr, owner of the Kawther Factory for Gold and Jewelry, talked about the all-woman gold-jewelry factory he opened up in Dammam six months ago.
“Saudi women represent half the population and they have proven their abilities in any field they’ve worked in, but unfortunately the lack of jobs doesn’t help these women to prove their worth,” Nimr said.
The whole idea started out when Nimr realized that not only do women need more job opportunities, but that they might be better than men when it comes to the design of gold jewelry, a product that is almost exclusively for women.
During the seminar, Nimr pointed out that over 9,000 women out of the 150 chosen applied to work in the factory. Salaries range from SR1,500 to SR4,000 per month. The factory employs women in different kinds of jobs, such as security, accounting, marketing, designing and production.
Nimr said that he plans to merge operations of the SR18 million Kawther Factory with the main factory in 2008, which means more positions for women would be created.
Nimr announced these plans at the seminar in Dammam, which was attended by Usama Al-Wazeer, the manager of the World Gold Council in Saudi Arabia; Esa Al-Ansary, the manager of Prince Mohammad Ibn Fahd Project; as well as other members of the business community.
“The factory opened a great chance for women to prove themselves,” said Suhad Al-Zaher, a production accountant in the factory.
Al-Nimr pointed out that his group is getting ready to hold a number of exhibitions in Arab countries starting in Dubai, where one of the largest showrooms for gold work has been reserved.
Ansary said that the factory is a great step toward the future women empowerment in the Kingdom and the region. He pointed that Prince Mohammad Ibn Fahd project encourages such ideas to help promote Saudization.
