Changes bring chances for Arab women

Changes bring chances for Arab women

CAIRO: “I think the way to happiness is to be around the people you love, to do the work you love, and to be able to live the way you want,” said Ayesha Al-Hamall, now a media specialist of Saudia, the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia. Changes in the Gulf state have become increasingly visible since 2017, especially with the introduction of the Saudi Vision 2030, as the government has implemented a series of measures aimed at bridging the gender gap in social status, such as ending the ban on female driving and relaxing the male guardianship system, which mandates that every woman must have a male guardian who is authorized to make a range of decisions on her behalf.

Consequently, the past few years witnessed more and more women join the Saudi job market, where the labor force participation rate of women rose from 20 percent at the end of 2018 to 33 percent at the end of 2020. “It gives us a good promising view to the future and the changes that are coming more,” said Hamall, who obtained bachelor’s degree from King Faisal University as an information system graduate.

What is happening in Saudi Arabia mirrors many Middle Eastern