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Arab News
19-04-2025
- Arab News
2018 - The day Saudi women could drive
JEDDAH: This story could be called a tale of two countries. When I arrived in Jeddah from the Arab News Dubai office for my first visit to Saudi Arabia, on June 20, 2018, I was not allowed to drive. And then, four days later, along with every other woman in the Kingdom, all of a sudden we could. Much like Cinderella in the fairy tale, our pumpkins turned into carriages at the stroke of midnight on June 24. So much has changed since then that it seems like ancient history. At the time, we thought other changes might happen, inshallah, in baby steps, but the driving law proved to be only the first of many that drove Saudi women's independence forward into the 21st century. In the words of my Saudi colleague Noor Nugali, now deputy editor-in-chief of Arab News, it was a 'mind-blowing' signal that Saudi Arabia was headed '100 miles in the right direction.' In August 2019, the guardianship law, which required Saudi women to get a male guardian's permission to travel, was rescinded. In December that year, gender segregation in public places came to an end. In June 2021, single, divorced or widowed women were allowed to live independently without needing the permission of their male guardians. In January 2023, Saudi women married to foreign men gained the right to pass on Saudi citizenship to their children. And in 2024, the World Bank reported that women made up 34.5 percent of the Kingdom's workforce, surpassing the Vision 2030 target (which was subsequently raised from 30 to 40 percent). This was all unthinkable at the time the driving ban was lifted. So let us reverse, if you will, to a time when the Kingdom was the last country in the world in which women could not drive. Arriving on a humid morning at Jeddah's airport, I stepped off the plane in my abaya, with a sense of excitement tempered by fear at what I might encounter as a solo foreign woman. After a decade living in the UAE, I had heard stories from other women about their encounters with the Saudi religious police, so I wrapped my headscarf tightly and prepared for the worst. Mistakenly joining the line for Umrah arrivals, I was approached by a customs officer who, after looking at my visa, asked me to have a seat while he sorted an issue by calling an Arabic speaker in our Jeddah newsroom. 'This is it,' I thought. 'I'm going to jail.' What happened next was a total surprise. He returned, offering me Arabic coffee and a chocolate heart before helping me through the gates. The driver sent to pick me up told me I did not have to wear a headscarf, so I let it go around my shoulders, already feeling more relaxed. For the next few days, I made my trips to the Jeddah newsroom with Bakhsh, our ever-smiling company driver who insisted on carrying my bags, whenever he was available. To those who suggest the lifting of the driving ban was just a token gesture, I can tell you this: it was anything but. Imagine getting through your day by relying on someone to pick you up at every point, and then remember the sense of freedom you felt when you got your driving license and the keys to your first car. Royal decree issued ordering lifting of ban on women driving in the Kingdom. First driving licenses issued to 10 Saudi women in the Kingdom. Women officially allowed to drive on the Kingdom's roads for the first time; Aseel Al-Hamad becomes the first Saudi woman to drive a Formula One car, completing a symbolic lap around the French Grand Prix circuit at Le Castellet. Saudi racing driver Reema Juffali makes her Formula 4 British Championship debut at Brands Hatch in the UK. Juffali becomes the first female driver to claim pole position in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup. Formula E announces that Saudi female racing driver Reem Al-Aboud has set a new FIA single-seater acceleration benchmark in a GenBeta electric racing car, besting the F1 benchmark. So when the clocks on our iPhones turned to 12:01 a.m. on June 24 it was not only a sign to start our engines, it was time for Saudi Arabia to leave this old way behind. At this time I was already in the driver's seat of our company car, wearing Saudi designer Moe Khoja's driving jacket, embroidered with the date of this momentous occasion. My boss, Faisal J. Abbas, sitting beside me in the passenger's seat, had designated me to take him and two female colleagues on this drive, because a Saudi woman in our newsroom had yet to obtain a license. It was not only a historic occasion for me; for them, it was the first time they had been driven by a woman in the Kingdom. Off we drove that night in a big black SUV, rolling down our windows at stoplights and waving to surprised Saudis, who smiled and gave us the thumbs up. The real test was when we pulled up next to a police car at the next light. We waited in nervous silence until the light turned green and then we let go of our breaths, driving off without incident. The next morning, as more Saudi women took to the roads, I approached the rental-car desk in my hotel lobby to ask about hiring a vehicle. The man told me it was not possible. 'Oh yes it is,' I told him. 'Haven't you read the news?' I showed him the special edition of Arab News that day, wrapped in Malika Favre's illustration of a Saudi woman driving, which went on to become an iconic image of that day. Sadly, it did not help my appeal. The assistant called his supervisor, who told me I needed a Saudi license. Remarkably, after I wrote in Arab News about this experience, the chief operating officer of Budget Saudi Arabia contacted me to rectify the confusion. He invited me to visit the company's office on the Corniche, where I produced my international driver's license and became the first foreign woman to rent a car in Saudi Arabia. As I climbed into the white Land Cruiser, people on the street stopped to take photos. That night, when I took the Arab News ladies on a drive to Old Jeddah, we got the same reception from the crowded streets: smiles and waves. I am glad we soaked up the celebrity attention while we had it, because as more Saudi women obtained their licenses, it became commonplace to see women driving in the Kingdom. And not only driving: living their own lives, running companies, working in senior government roles, traveling into space and representing Saudi Arabia on the world stage, whether it is in Washington or on a sports field. I have watched them do so with unmatched grace, determination and courage. Back at home in Canada, when I'm asked about Saudi Arabia, I'm proud to tell the story of how I got to be part of that day. But my story takes a back seat to Saudi women, who are in the driver's seat now. I can't wait to see where they go on the road ahead.
Arab News
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Artificial intelligence should be used ‘with intelligence,' says Arab News deputy editor-in-chief
RIYADH: Artificial intelligence should be applied 'intelligently,' Arab News Deputy Editor-in-Chief Noor Nugali told the Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh on Wednesday. 'In this era, AI must be used wisely — after all, artificial intelligence should be applied intelligently,' he said. 'We're currently living in the age of the AI revolution, where artificial intelligence is being used across all fields, institutions, and even education.' In a session tackling how new technologies and AI were shaping the news industry, Nugali underlined the importance of utilizing AI in a way that supported and encouraged human learning 'rather than relying on it for simple copy-pasting.' 'This also applies to media,' she said. 'Many people have concerns about AI tools like ChatGPT or other programs being used to write articles.' Nugali stressed that while AI could help by providing background information or research, 'it will never replace a human journalist in writing a fully developed article backed by evidence and facts.' In education, Nugali said it was unfortunate that some children were using AI to write essays or research papers and emphasized it should never be used for actual intelligence. Speaking alongside Nugali were Rashid Al-Hamer, editor of Bahrain's leading newspaper Al-Ayam, and Hatem Abu Nassif, chairman of the Radio & Television Authority. Afterwards, Dr. Essam Bukhary, CEO of Manga Productions, spoke on a panel tacking manga and Saudi-led content creation. He said Saudis were not here to simply watch: 'We are here to participate, compete, and excel with our content and culture.' He added that some 2.88 billion people, around 36 percent of the world's population, watched anime. 'For years, people assumed that Saudi Arabia was merely a consumer (of anime content). But that has changed,' he said. 'We no longer see manga and anime as something imported from Japan — we see them as an art form through which we create content, share our culture and tell our own stories to the world.' Bukhary pointed out that Saudi anime series 'Future's Folktales' was broadcast in the Arab world, Japan, North America, Europe and India on eight platforms across five continents, garnering over 85 million views in just three months. An associated mobile game reached half a million downloads in three languages. He said Saudi Arabia was taking the lead in anime content creation by producing animations, developing video games, and creating comics that shared Saudi stories with the world. Also speaking on the panel were Yves Blehaut, business development manager for the Middle East and North Africa region at Media-Participations, and Kazuko Ishikawa, president of the Japanese production association that produced the 'Sally' series. The fourth Saudi Media Forum has the theme 'Media in an Evolving World' and brings together 200 speakers including media professionals, academics, experts and specialists from local and international arenas. Taking place from Feb. 19-21 it will feature 80 sessions comprising 40 panel discussions and 40 knowledge exchange sessions, serving as an international platform for forecasting and developing the future of media and exploring the latest technologies.
