ABHA: Saudi women have made remarkable achievements in society — be it business, employment or politics. The latest in the list is their representation as elected members in the municipal councils. But the story does not end here. The women are also playing a key role in animal welfare in the Kingdom.

The Business Woman magazine has explored three vital animal welfare associations that are headed by female volunteers in Saudi Arabia.

The first one is Mercy Paws, headed by Muna Saleh (Um Mohammed). Saleh is 41 years old and a mother of five children.

She is not the typical housewife, as she has a bachelor’s degree from the US and used to work as a diabetes specialist. She has devoted a part of her own house to embrace stray and sick animals. She spends almost SR7,000 every month on sheltering them.

She has also managed to get volunteers to help her — physically and financially. One of the most prominent activities she is involved in is setting an open day for people all around the Kingdom to adopt animals. She stays in touch with them to guarantee that they get the best possible treatment.

Currently, Um Mohammad’s most significant moves are establishing a headquarter for her association and providing a therapeutic support from the Ministry of Agriculture.

The second association is the Saudi Group for Animal Welfare, which is headed by Princess Moudi bint Fahd bin Mishari. She rescues and looks after needy animals in her own house and camps. She is now working on inaugurating the association to become world class in terms of the provision of specialist doctors, modern devices for the treatment of various types of animals.

However, she has reportedly been facing obstacles in getting a building license for the shelter.

Wildlife Conservation Society is another organization that was founded by Isra’ Muheb, a 21-year-old psychology student. She holds weekly campaigns to feed animals throughout the city of Jeddah. She aims to get support by medical parties or clinics to aid the animals at nominal prices, and to obtain a license for the assembly.

Yusra Al-Shahri, who is a Master’s student in hearing disabilities, is specialized in studying the motives behind volunteering in the field of animal welfare.

The reason why Yusra is volunteering is simply because of her love for animals; she used to have six cats in her parents’ house. She hopes that someday Saudi Arabia will not be left behind the West in terms of animal welfare.