Maha Al Muneef ( ar, لدكتورة مها عبدالله المنيف ; born 1960) is the executive director of the National Family Safety Program (NFSP) in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. She is a specialist in

pediatric Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

, and has worked to spread awareness about

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

and victims of

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

Life

Al Muneef was born in Saudi Arabia in 1960, the same year that girls were first allowed to be educated. She went to school and university in Saudi Arabia, but she indicates that her skills were honed during a decade of working in the USA. In Saudi Arabia she was told facts but in America she learnt how to work through a crisis.audi receives International Women of Courage Award
Al Monitor, 2016, Retrieved 17 July 2016 Maha Al Muneef with Obama

From 2009 to 2013, Al Muneef also served as an adviser to Saudi Arabia's Consultative Council, the

Shura Council In Arab culture, a Majlis-ash-Shura ( ar, مجلس الشورى; Shura Council in English) is an advisory council or consultative council. In Islamic context, the Majlis-ash-Shura is one of two ways that a Caliph, khalifa (Islamic leader) may be s ...

. In August 2013, the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

adopted landmark legislation to protect victims of domestic violence. Al Muneef and the National Family Safety Program played a role in drafting and advising on the "Protection from Abuse" law, which defines and criminalizes domestic violence for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Maha Al Muneef was also awarded the 2014

International Women of Courage Award The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

for this humanitarian work in particular. She could not attend the ceremony so Barack Obama awarded her the prize in Saudi Arabia in April 2014. The NFSP was created in 2005 in order to combat domestic violence and child abuse in Saudi Arabia. The NFSP has developed advocacy programs, reported on domestic violence and child abuse statistics in Saudi Arabia, and led efforts to provide services for victims of abuse.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muneef, Maha Al Living people Saudi Arabian women medical doctors 21st-century Saudi Arabian women scientists 21st-century Saudi Arabian medical doctors Saudi Arabian women activists Saudi Arabian women's rights activists Children's rights activists 1960 births Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award