It is not simply the scale of development that should be understood; it is its nature. From the start, Prince Fahd recognized the importance of providing educational opportunities to girls as well as boys. Promoting the concept of equal educational opportunities for the sexes posed another problem but one that was ameliorated by Islam’s insistence on the importance of learning in general (Muslims are exhorted “to seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave”) and the high status accorded to women within Islamic society in particular. Once again, the figures will show how educational opportunities for girls were developed between 1970 and 2000.