Cairo: A batch of 279 Saudi female recruits have graduated at a passport institute in Saudi Arabia, as a vigorous empowerment drive is going on in the kingdom.

The graduates, who completed a basic individual training course for women recruits, staged a military parade at a ceremony attended by Director-General of Passports Lt.Gen. Sulaiman Al Yehya, reported Saudi news port Al Marsd.

During the course, the cadets were trained in field skills and security sciences, qualifying them to work in various security fields.

In 2019, the kingdom announced allowing women to serve in the army.

Some 211 Saudi female conscripts last month graduated after completing a training course at a prison facility, focusing on field skills and security sciences. Also last month, 255 other Saudi women graduated from an army training institute for females, qualifying them to be members of special forces in diplomatic and Hajj security.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has pursued a drive to empower women in different walks of life as part of dramatic changes in the kingdom.

Women accounted for 37 per cent of the kingdom’s overall labour market last year, Saud Minister of Human Resources Ahmed Al Rajhi has recently said.

In 2018, the kingdom allowed women to drive for the first time in its history, ending a decades-old ban on female driving.

In another move enhancing women’s empowerment, Saudi Arabia allowed women to travel without a male guard’s approval and to apply for a passport, easing long-time controls on them.