User:Tarafa15/Saudi Arabia 2010s

Economic reforms
Following the prolonged slump in oil prices from 2013, changes to the cabinet structure included the creation in 2015 of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, chaired by then-Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman. The following year bin Salman announced the Saudi Vision 2030 program, which aims to diversify the Saudi economy and reduce its dependence on oil revenues and state spending.

Central to the program is the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), which in 2017 began investing in sectors including infrastructure, real estate and technology with the goal of becoming one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds by 2030. Several projects were announced including Neom, a proposed $500 billion mega-city in the northwest of the kingdom, extending into Jordan and Egypt. The PIF also launched Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), a domestic defense company.

Additional reforms within Vision 2030 include a privatization program, which aims to raise the private sector’s share of GDP; a financial sector development program to diversify financial services; and a fiscal balance program, which commits the government to cutting the budget deficit and increasing its non-oil revenues.

Social and cultural changes
On 25 September 2011, King Abdullah announced that Saudi women would gain the right to vote (and to be candidates) in municipal elections, provided that a male guardian granted permission. Women voted for the first time in the 2015 municipal elections.

In August 2013, a law was passed that criminalized domestic violence against women. The law includes penalties of a 12-month jail sentence and fines of up to 50,000 riyals ($13,000).

In 2016 the Saudi government stripped the religious police of the power to pursue, arrest or detain members of the public. ''Also in 2016 the General Entertainment Authority was formed to oversee the expansion of the Saudi entertainment sector. The first concerts in Riyadh for 25 years took place in December that year. Other events since the GEA’s creation have included comedy shows, professional wrestling events and monster truck rallies.''

In April 2017, a project was announced to build a 334-square kilometer entertainment city in Qiddiya, southwest of Riyadh. Ground-breaking at the site began in April 2018.

In December 2017 the country’s first concert by a female performer took place in Riyadh. The following month Saudi women were allowed to enter sports stadiums for the first time. In April 2018 the first public cinema opened after a ban of 35 years.

In March 2018 a law was passed allowing Saudi mothers to retain custody of their children after divorce without having to file any lawsuits. A law followed in May that year criminalizing sexual harassment.

In June 2018, King Salman issued a decree allowing women to drive, lifting the world's only ban on women drivers.

The Saudi Vision 2030 program includes a commitment to increase female participation in the workforce from 22% to 30% by 2030. As of 2018 Saudi women can open businesses without a male's permission, work in the Public Prosecution Office and the Ministry of Justice, and join the military. In February that year there were 600,000 women employed in the private sector, up from 90,000 in 2011.