Viewers in Saudi Arabia were in for a huge surprise as they tuned into one of the state-owned television channels on Thursday night – a woman was presenting the main evening news bulletin.
Weam Al Dakheel created history by appearing alongside anchor Omar Al Nashwan to become the first woman in the history of the state-owned Saudi TV Channel 1 to present the 9.30 news, The Khaleej Times reported.
Traditionally, men have always done that while women presenters were used for “soft morning newscasts, women’s programmes, cooking shows and weather updates”.
In 2016, Jumanah AlShami was the first woman to present the morning news in 2016, and Weam Al Dakheel created history by becoming the main nightly newscast, Saudi TV said on its official Twitter channel.
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has initiated lifting of a number of restrictions and going for several reforms, which is part of the Saudi Vision 2030. These moves are particularly aimed at women’s empowerment – like increasing the percentage of women in the workforce – among other things. Part of this was the Royal Decree of September 2017 issued by King Salman bin Abdullaziz, allowing women to drive from June 2018.
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