From tech to space travel, once closed fields are now open to Saudi women

JEDDAH: Over the course of the past decade, Saudi women have stepped into the limelight, with thousands entering study and the workforce for the first time, succeeding in traditionally male-dominated industries, and taking on leadership roles. 

All over the world, across many different cultures, women have faced social stigma and professional hurdles, routinely sidelined in public life, often in the name of religion and custom. For many years, the same was true in Saudi Arabia. 

Authorities had twisted the basic teachings of Islam, when in fact these teachings had granted women equal status and prominent positions in society long before the concepts of human rights and gender equality were written into law.

Since the implementation of reforms by King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the past few years, Saudi women have regained their rightful place in society and the workforce, putting their skills to the test in almost every sector imaginable. 

Last month, the Saudi Space Commission, or SSC, announced that two astronauts would be part of the Axiom-2 private mission to the International Space Station, scheduled to launch next year on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. 

Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi, the first female Saudi astronaut, will be part of the crew of four who will spend 10 days aboard the ISS, where they will conduct 14 biomedical and physics experiments.

Mariam Fardous and Ali Al-Ghamdi will also train as backups for the mission and are currently part of the Saudi Human Spaceflight Program.

A month before the SSC announcement, Saudi transport authorities said that 34 female train drivers had joined the ninth recruitment force conducting the high-speed railway between Makkah and Madinah