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  • The women that built Eastern Flames into a Saudi Women’s Premier League club

    Have you heard the one about the Saudi Arabian businesswoman and US Mexican expat who built a women’s football club in Saudi Arabia? No, it is not the punchline to a bad joke, but instead an inspiring story of ambition, sisterhood and family. Maram Al-Butairi, a successful Saudi businesswoman, and Karina Chapa, a long-time expat from Houston, are officially the president and vice-president, respectively, of Shulat Alsharqia FC, or Eastern Flames, the Dammam-based club in the eight-team Saudi Women’s Premier League.

  • Organizations team up to promote financial well-being among women in Saudi Arabia

    Wealth-management business The Family Office and Playbook, a platform for women, have formed a strategic partnership that aims to empower women in Saudi Arabia to improve their financial well-being by providing them with the knowledge and tools they need to make informed decisions about money. It also seeks to advocate for gender diversity and financial inclusivity of women in the country, the organizations said. “By combining our expertise and resources, we aim to create a transformative experience that equips women with the knowledge and tools to make confident financial decisions,” said Abdulmohsin Al-Omran, the Saudi founder and CEO of The Family Office.

  • Special report: Saudi Arabia, women’s football’s next frontier?

    Their pitch had to be covered, players hidden so no one could look in, and the person renting it to them had to turn a blind eye. Former Jeddah Eagles Ladies player Massilia Kheddouci was among that group. At that time, four years ago, there was no such thing as a ‘women’s football scene’ in Saudi Arabia.

  • Saudi Arabia football revolution spreads to women’s game

    Just five years ago, organised women's football in Saudi Arabia did not exist in a meaningful fashion, but much has changed since a league was created with the aim of boosting female participation in sport in a country where women's rights are restricted. The women's national team - who played their first game just last year - are looking at qualification for the 2027 Women's World Cup, while the country is bidding to host the 2026 Women's Asian Cup. And on Friday the new season of the Saudi Women's Premier League kicks off.

  • ‘Destined to Play’ documents rise of Saudi Arabia women’s national team

    A new documentary on the Saudi Arabian women’s national team will inspire girls in the kingdom to realise their dream of also representing the country, according to the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. Destined to Play, a 45-minute factual film charting the rise of the Saudi women’s senior national football team, was released last week on Fifa+. The documentary follows the team for four matches, providing a behind-the-scenes portrayal of the group’s attempt to become an established competitor on the women’s international football scene.

  • Saudis, Taliban Follow Different Paths on Women’s Work, Education

    Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia are known for their Shariah-based legal systems and authoritarian ways of governance. But the two Islamist governments are on divergent paths regarding women's work and education. In the Saudi kingdom, where until a few years ago women were deprived of many social rights and freedoms, the women's employment rate has surged to 37%, according to U.S. and Saudi officials. In the high-tech industry, Saudi women's participation has gone up so much that recently U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney humorously suggested that U.S. tech hub Silicon Valley could take inspiration from Saudi Arabia's efforts to foster female entrepreneurship.

  • Women’s football in Saudi Arabia ‘breaking records,’ says first female VP of SAFF

    The number of women’s clubs nationally also rose by 56 percent, from 16 percent to 25 percent, during the same period, as did the number of coaching courses conducted, up a whopping 557 percent – from 7 to 46. More than 48,000 players competed in the 2022/23 Schools League across 3,660 teams – all of which highlights the emerging talent that can take the game to new heights in the coming years.

  • Saudisation levels for women in hotel sector nears 100 percent

    New Saudisation figures have been shared for the Kingdom’s hospitality sector. The industry has hit 21.7 percent Saudisation, with particular successes when it comes to hiring local women. The Saudi Gazette reported that the number of employees in the accommodation and food services activities in Saudi Arabia, who are subjected to the social insurance rules and regulations, has reached, by the end of the first quarter of 2023, to about 694,000 workers. The number of foreign workers in the sector of accommodation and hotel services reached to about 543,200 workers, versus about 151,000 Saudi workers. As for women in the hotel sector, there are about 78,060 female workers, constituting 11.3 percent of the total employees.

  • How Saudi Designer Nora Nakhlah Has Captured The Attention Of American Women With Her Kaftans

    For those that have been to the Middle East, the kaftan does not go unnoticed. These long flowing single-breasted robes that originated in ancient Mesopotamia are enticing, so much so that they spilled over into Africa, Southwest Asia, and parts of the West. Saudi Arabian designer Nora Nakhlah has taken this unique and ancient garb and created her own business, which has caught the attention of American women.

  • Saudi Data body and Google Cloud to train 1,000 women from 28 countries in AI

    Font Size The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), in cooperation with Google Cloud, continues to train 1,000 women representing 28 countries in the fields of data and AI, according to a report by Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on tuesday. The training initiative is part of the first phase of the ‘Elevate Program,’ the world’s first of its kind, which will last for five years to skilfully train over 25,000 women from various nations in advanced technical domains.