In October 2013, Bayan Mahmoud Al-Zahran became the first female attorney licensed to practice law in Saudi Arabia and, very recently, she opened the country’s first female law firm. Prior to Al-Zahran’s licensing alongside three other Saudi women, female law graduates were only allowed to serve as legal consultants. Al-Zahran plans to focus her work on business and labor cases and women’s rights. Al-Zahran has not only broken a barrier and set an example for others but has expanded access to legal services for countless Saudi women as well. “Al-Zahran’s path must have been – indeed, must continue to be – an arduous one yet she has continued to break new ground in the field of women’s rights and human rights, more generally, inspiring us to do the same.”

For more information: http://www.arabnews.com/news/502791;

Photo credit: http://rt.com/news/saudi-women-lawyer-firm-107/