For 1st time in Saudi history, woman heads sports club

In continuation of women’s empowerment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a woman was appointed to head a sport club, the first such position given to a woman in the Kingdom’s history.

Hanan Al-Qurashi was appointed to be president of Waj Sports Club in Taif after the dissolution of the club’s board of directors, the club announced on its Twitter account on June 8.

Saudi newspaper Asharq Al Awsat reported in July 2020 that women's participation in sports in Saudi Arabia has increased by 150 percent over the previous five years, according to the Ministry of Sports’ data.

Saudi Arabia has taken certain measures helping women’s empowerment since 2019 as part of the Kingdom’s social reform, and Saudi females have entered new sectors that had long been dominated by men, like the construction, transportation, industry sectors, according to the World Bank’s report on March 3, 2022.

The WB added that six million women aged above 21 benefited from the Kingdom’s reforms, which will also affect more women in generations to come.

In the field of space, the Saudi Space Authority has chosen Rayyanah Barnawi to be the first female Saudi astronaut to go to space.

In cybersecurity, the rate of Saudi women participation increased from 22 percent in 2021 to 27 percent in 2022, said Secretary General of the Family Affairs Council Maymouna Bint Khalil Al Khalil in an interview with UN News on March 17.

“We found that the participation of women in the professions of the telecommunications sector was 11 percent in 2017, but with efforts, training, and keenness to offer opportunities, this percentage increased to 32.52 percent in 2022 - meaning that the number has almost tripled,” she added in her discussion about women’s participation in the telecommunications sector.

In an unprecedented scene in the Kingdom, female soldiers participated in a military parade in September 2022, celebrating the 92nd anniversary of Saudi National Day, as was shown in video footage that circulated on social media.

In the same month, Saudi King Salman issued a royal order appointing the first Saudi woman as the head of the Human Rights Commission, the Saudi news agency SPA reported.