A newly licensed Saudi woman prepares to go for a drive. AFP
A newly licensed Saudi woman prepares to go for a drive. AFP

2018 - The day Saudi women could drive

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Updated 19 April 2025
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2018 - The day Saudi women could drive

2018 - The day Saudi women could drive
  • The lifting of the ban was one of several reforms that improved gender equality

JEDDAH: This story could be called a tale of two countries. When I arrived in Jeddah from the Arab News Dubai office for my first visit to Saudi Arabia, on June 20, 2018, I was not allowed to drive.

And then, four days later, along with every other woman in the Kingdom, all of a sudden we could. Much like Cinderella in the fairy tale, our pumpkins turned into carriages at the stroke of midnight on June 24.

So much has changed since then that it seems like ancient history. At the time, we thought other changes might happen, inshallah, in baby steps, but the driving law proved to be only the first of many that drove Saudi women’s independence forward into the 21st century.

In the words of my Saudi colleague Noor Nugali, now deputy editor-in-chief of Arab News, it was a “mind-blowing” signal that Saudi Arabia was headed “100 miles in the right direction.”

In August 2019, the guardianship law, which required Saudi women to get a male guardian’s permission to travel, was rescinded. In December that year, gender segregation in public places came to an end. In June 2021, single, divorced or widowed women were allowed to live independently without needing the permission of their male guardians. In January 2023, Saudi women married to foreign men gained the right to pass on Saudi citizenship to their children. And in 2024, the World Bank reported that women made up 34.5 percent of the Kingdom’s workforce, surpassing the Vision 2030 target (which was subsequently raised from 30 to 40 percent).

How we wrote it




Arab News published a 3-page special report in an award-winning souvenir edition designed by artist Malika Favre.

This was all unthinkable at the time the driving ban was lifted. So let us reverse, if you will, to a time when the Kingdom was the last country in the world in which women could not drive. Arriving on a humid morning at Jeddah’s airport, I stepped off the plane in my abaya, with a sense of excitement tempered by fear at what I might encounter as a solo foreign woman. After a decade living in the UAE, I had heard stories from other women about their encounters with the Saudi religious police, so I wrapped my headscarf tightly and prepared for the worst.

Mistakenly joining the line for Umrah arrivals, I was approached by a customs officer who, after looking at my visa, asked me to have a seat while he sorted an issue by calling an Arabic speaker in our Jeddah newsroom. “This is it,” I thought. “I’m going to jail.”

What happened next was a total surprise. He returned, offering me Arabic coffee and a chocolate heart before helping me through the gates. The driver sent to pick me up told me I did not have to wear a headscarf, so I let it go around my shoulders, already feeling more relaxed.

For the next few days, I made my trips to the Jeddah newsroom with Bakhsh, our ever-smiling company driver who insisted on carrying my bags, whenever he was available. To those who suggest the lifting of the driving ban was just a token gesture, I can tell you this: it was anything but. Imagine getting through your day by relying on someone to pick you up at every point, and then remember the sense of freedom you felt when you got your driving license and the keys to your first car.

Key Dates

  • 1

    Royal decree issued ordering lifting of ban on women driving in the Kingdom.

    Timeline Image Sept. 26, 2017

  • 2

    First driving licenses issued to 10 Saudi women in the Kingdom.

  • 3

    Women officially allowed to drive on the Kingdom’s roads for the first time; Aseel Al-Hamad becomes the first Saudi woman to drive a Formula One car, completing a symbolic lap around the French Grand Prix circuit at Le Castellet.

    Timeline Image June 24, 2018

  • 4

    Saudi racing driver Reema Juffali makes her Formula 4 British Championship debut at Brands Hatch in the UK.

    Timeline Image Apr. 6, 2019

  • 5

    Juffali becomes the first female driver to claim pole position in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup.

    Timeline Image Sept. 3, 2023

  • 6

    Formula E announces that Saudi female racing driver Reem Al-Aboud has set a new FIA single-seater acceleration benchmark in a GenBeta electric racing car, besting the F1 benchmark.

    Timeline Image March 5, 2024

So when the clocks on our iPhones turned to 12:01 a.m. on June 24 it was not only a sign to start our engines, it was time for Saudi Arabia to leave this old way behind.

At this time I was already in the driver’s seat of our company car, wearing Saudi designer Moe Khoja’s driving jacket, embroidered with the date of this momentous occasion. My boss, Faisal J. Abbas, sitting beside me in the passenger’s seat, had designated me to take him and two female colleagues on this drive, because a Saudi woman in our newsroom had yet to obtain a license. It was not only a historic occasion for me; for them, it was the first time they had been driven by a woman in the Kingdom.

Off we drove that night in a big black SUV, rolling down our windows at stoplights and waving to surprised Saudis, who smiled and gave us the thumbs up. The real test was when we pulled up next to a police car at the next light. We waited in nervous silence until the light turned green and then we let go of our breaths, driving off without incident.

The next morning, as more Saudi women took to the roads, I approached the rental-car desk in my hotel lobby to ask about hiring a vehicle. The man told me it was not possible. “Oh yes it is,” I told him. “Haven’t you read the news?” 




Former Arab News editor Mo Gannon takes to the road on the day the ban on women driving was lifted. AN Photo

I showed him the special edition of Arab News that day, wrapped in Malika Favre’s illustration of a Saudi woman driving, which went on to become an iconic image of that day. Sadly, it did not help my appeal. The assistant called his supervisor, who told me I needed a Saudi license.

Remarkably, after I wrote in Arab News about this experience, the chief operating officer of Budget Saudi Arabia contacted me to rectify the confusion. He invited me to visit the company’s office on the Corniche, where I produced my international driver’s license and became the first foreign woman to rent a car in Saudi Arabia.

As I climbed into the white Land Cruiser, people on the street stopped to take photos. That night, when I took the Arab News ladies on a drive to Old Jeddah, we got the same reception from the crowded streets: smiles and waves. I am glad we soaked up the celebrity attention while we had it, because as more Saudi women obtained their licenses, it became commonplace to see women driving in the Kingdom. And not only driving: living their own lives, running companies, working in senior government roles, traveling into space and representing Saudi Arabia on the world stage, whether it is in Washington or on a sports field. I have watched them do so with unmatched grace, determination and courage.

Back at home in Canada, when I’m asked about Saudi Arabia, I’m proud to tell the story of how I got to be part of that day. But my story takes a back seat to Saudi women, who are in the driver’s seat now. I can’t wait to see where they go on the road ahead.

  • Mo Gannon became the first foreign woman to rent a car in Saudi Arabia when she was a senior editor in the Dubai bureau of Arab News.


US defense chief looks to woo allies in Asian security forum debut

US defense chief looks to woo allies in Asian security forum debut
Updated 29 May 2025
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US defense chief looks to woo allies in Asian security forum debut

US defense chief looks to woo allies in Asian security forum debut
  • Allies concerned about United States’ commitment

SINGAPORE: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will try to convince Asian defense leaders this weekend that the United States is a more trusted partner for the region than China, US officials told Reuters, as questions linger about the Trump administration’s commitment to the region.
Hegseth, who has spent a large portion of his first months on the job focused on domestic issues, countering diversity, equity and inclusion in the military and taking aim at the press, will make his first extended remarks in Singapore on Saturday about how he envisions US defense policy in the Indo-Pacific.
He will be addressing the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier security forum, which runs this year from May 31-June 1. Defense ministers, senior military and security officials and diplomats from around the world are expected to attend. French President Emmanuel Macron will deliver the keynote address on Friday.
“Secretary Hegseth is going to make the case to Asian allies about why the United States is a better partner than the CCP,” said a senior US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official, who was using an acronym for China’s Communist Party, said Hegseth had the opportunity to take advantage of Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun’s expected absence from the dialogue, where US and Chinese delegates have locked horns in previous years.
Hegseth’s speech will be closely watched as it comes after President Donald Trump has lashed out at traditional allies, most recently with tariffs.
Hegseth has also roiled allies in Europe. In February, he warned Europe against treating America like a “sucker” while addressing a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
“There’s certainly uncertainty being expressed, and sometimes I think it’s probably fair to characterize it as a concern,” a second senior US defense official said, referring to anxiety among Asian allies.
General Dan Caine, the recently confirmed US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is also expected to attend the dialogue.
Some of the Trump administration’s early moves in the Indo-Pacific have raised eyebrows. The US moved air defense systems from Asia to the Middle East earlier this year as tensions with Iran spiked — an effort which took 73 C-17 flights.
But Hegseth visited the Philippines and Japan in March, a trip in which experts said the secretary stuck by the more traditional importance of allies.
Ely Ratner, who was the Pentagon’s top official on China under the Biden administration, said allies in Asia were seeking a consistent policy from Hegseth.
“The region will be watching closely as to whether the US secretary of defense that shows up at Shangri-la looks like the one that traveled to the Philippines and Japan or has more of the harder edge that we’ve seen from the Trump administration in Europe,” said Ratner.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, was only narrowly confirmed as defense secretary in January. He has moved with stunning speed to reshape the department, firing top generals and admirals as he seeks to implement Trump’s national security agenda.
His leadership has been under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that he shared sensitive war plans on Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis in two signal group chats. Trump has stuck by him through the turmoil.
Hegseth will likely get a friendly audience at the Shangri-La Dialogue, said Greg Poling, with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank.
“Asian allies, and particularly the Philippines, feel a lot more reassured than our European allies, but there’s always going to be that voice in the back of their head,” Poling said.
Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, who is co-leading a bi-partisan delegation to the Shangri-la Dialogue, said her aim was to reassure Asian allies that the United States was committed, a message she said Hegseth was not capable of delivering.
“He’s only got this job because he sucked up to President Trump and looked good on Fox News. So let’s be clear about the capabilities of the secretary of defense,” Duckworth told Reuters. 


Russia proposes new Ukraine talks, Kyiv demands terms upfront

Russia proposes new Ukraine talks, Kyiv demands terms upfront
Updated 29 May 2025
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Russia proposes new Ukraine talks, Kyiv demands terms upfront

Russia proposes new Ukraine talks, Kyiv demands terms upfront

MOSCOW: Russia said Wednesday it wanted new talks with Ukraine in Istanbul next Monday to present its plan for a peace settlement, but Kyiv said it needed to see the plan in advance for the meeting to yield results.
Diplomatic efforts to end the three-year conflict have accelerated in recent months, but Moscow has repeatedly rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire and shown no signs of scaling back its maximalist demands.
The two sides previously met in Istanbul on May 16, their first direct talks in over three years. That encounter failed to yield a breakthrough.
US President Donald Trump, who has been pushing for a peace deal, has become increasingly frustrated with Moscow’s apparent stalling and warned Wednesday he would determine within “about two weeks” whether Vladimir Putin was serious about ending the fighting.
Ukraine said it had already submitted its peace terms to Russia and demanded Moscow do the same.
“We are not opposed to further meetings with the Russians and are awaiting their memorandum,” Ukrainian defense minister Rustem Umerov, who negotiated for Kyiv at the last talks, said in a post on X.
“The Russian side has at least four more days before their departure to provide us with their document for review. Diplomacy must be substantive, and the next meeting must yield results.”
Moscow’s offensive, launched in February 2022, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the destruction of large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.
The Russian army now controls around a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.
Russia said it would present a “memorandum” outlining its peace terms at the talks next Monday, and that its foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had briefed US counterpart Marco Rubio on the proposal.
“Our delegation, led by Vladimir Medinsky, is ready to present a memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation and provide the necessary explanations during a second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Monday, June 2,” Lavrov said in a video statement.
Medinsky, a Russian political scientist and former culture minister, led Russia’s negotiating team during a first round of talks in Istanbul on May 16.
The two sides have traded waves of massive aerial attacks in recent weeks, with Ukraine unleashing one of its largest-ever drone barrages on Russia overnight and Moscow pounding Ukraine with deadly strikes over the weekend.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday he was “very disappointed” at Russia’s deadly bombardment during the negotiating process, but rebuffed calls to impose more sanctions on Moscow.
“If I think I’m close to getting a deal, I don’t want to screw it up by doing that,” he said.
The Kremlin earlier rejected a call by Ukrainian President Zelensky for a three-way summit with Trump and Putin.
Moscow said any meeting involving Russian President Putin and Zelensky would only happen after “concrete agreements” had been struck between negotiators from each side.
In exchange for peace, the Kremlin has demanded Ukraine abandon its ambition of joining NATO as well as cede territory it already controls — a proposition that Ukraine has called unacceptable.
Talks between the two sides in Istanbul earlier this month yielded a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange and the two sides agreed to work on respective peace proposals.
But Russia has kept up its deadly strikes on Ukraine in the meantime while rejecting calls for a ceasefire.
Zelensky on Wednesday accused Russia of dragging out the peace process and of not wanting to halt its offensive.
“They will constantly look for reasons not to end the war,” he said at a press conference in Berlin alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
On the battlefield, Zelensky said Russia was “amassing” more than 50,000 troops on the front line around the northeastern Sumy border region, where Moscow’s army has captured a number of settlements as it seeks to establish what Putin has called a “buffer zone” inside Ukrainian territory.


Alcaraz into French Open third round as Swiatek and Sabalenka cruise

Alcaraz into French Open third round as Swiatek and Sabalenka cruise
Updated 29 May 2025
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Alcaraz into French Open third round as Swiatek and Sabalenka cruise

Alcaraz into French Open third round as Swiatek and Sabalenka cruise

PARIS: Reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame a minor blip to reach the French Open third round on Wednesday as women’s title rivals Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka made short work of their opponents.
Second seed Alcaraz came through 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 against Hungarian Fabian Marozsan to earn his 17th win in 18 matches on clay this season.
“Second set, he started to play better and he didn’t miss a lot so it was a little bit difficult to deal with his game,” said Alcaraz.
“I’m really happy I stayed strong and refreshed myself. In the third set, I started to play better and better which helped me have a really good last two sets.”
Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam winner, goes on to face Bosnian journeyman Damir Dzumhur for a place in the last 16.
In the women’s draw, Swiatek continued her bid for a fourth straight Roland Garros crown as she outclassed fellow former US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
The Pole beat Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 to make it five wins in as many meetings with the Briton. She racked up her 23rd consecutive victory at Roland Garros to improve her career record at the tournament to 37-2.
Swiatek is bidding to become the first woman to win four consecutive French Open titles since Suzanne Lenglen 102 years ago.
The 23-year-old arrived in Paris under a slight cloud, having not reached a WTA final since lifting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen last year, but has made serene progress through the first two rounds.
“Honestly, I just love playing here. This place inspires me and that makes me work harder,” said Swiatek, who also captured the trophy as a teenager in 2020.
The fifth seed will play Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian for a place in the last 16.
Swiatek’s slide down the rankings has left her in the same half of the draw as world number one Sabalenka, last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.
Sabalenka shook off a sluggish start to blow past Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann.
After dropping serve early in the first set, Sabalenka won 11 of the final 12 games to power to a 6-3, 6-1 win.
“It doesn’t matter what the scoreboard says, she really made me work for every point,” said Sabalenka, who has conceded just five games through two rounds.
The Belarusian has never reached the French Open final and is hoping to banish the memories of a painful quarter-final loss to Mirra Andreeva in 2024.
Paolini moved into the third round as she brushed aside Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-3 to stretch her winning streak to eight matches following her triumph at the Italian Open.
The fourth seed from Italy advances to play Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva.
Zheng punched her ticket to the last 32 with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Colombia’s Emiliana Arango.
The Chinese star faces another Grand Slam debutant in the next round, 18-year-old Victoria Mboko of Canada.
Other seeds to progress included former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina and Amanda Anisimova.
Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open winner, rallied to win in three sets, but Russian 11th seed Diana Shnaider lost to Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska.
Twice former French Open runner-up Casper Ruud was the biggest casualty on Wednesday, crashing out in four sets to Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
Seventh seed Ruud won the first set against world number 41 Borges but was hampered by a knee injury as he slumped to a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 defeat.
“I actually felt it quite early in the first set,” said Ruud, uncertain whether he would be fit for Wimbledon. “It’s hopefully nothing too serious.”
There were no such problems for in-form Italian eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti, who raced past Colombian lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan 6-4, 6-0, 6-4.
Musetti has reached at least the semifinals in all three Masters 1000 events on clay in 2025. He will next play Argentina’s Mariano Navone.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 20th seed, suffered his earliest French Open exit in seven years as the 2021 runner-up lost in four sets to Matteo Gigante.
The Italian qualifier goes through to face Ben Shelton, who received a walkover as Hugo Gaston pulled out with an injury.
Denmark’s Holger Rune, the only man to beat Alcaraz on clay this year in the Barcelona final, beat American wild card Emilio Nava 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in the night match.


Egypt’s Al Ahly earn record-extending 45th league title

Egypt’s Al Ahly earn record-extending 45th league title
Updated 29 May 2025
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Egypt’s Al Ahly earn record-extending 45th league title

Egypt’s Al Ahly earn record-extending 45th league title

CAIRO: Al Ahly clinched a record-extending 45th Egyptian Premier League title with a 6-0 rout of Pharco after Wesam Abou Ali scored four goals in their final game on Wednesday.
Abou Ali also provided the assist for the fifth goal, scored by Hussein Elshahat, with Imam Ashour wrapping up the win in added time as Al Ahly earned a third consecutive league crown.
The win brings Al Ahly’s tally to 58 points, two ahead of their closest rivals Pyramids.
Local media reported that Pyramids have gone to the Court of Arbitration for Sport demanding three points to be deducted from the champions for failing to show up for a match against arch-rivals Zamalek.
The Egyptian Professional Football Club Association had punished Al Ahly with a three-point deduction for not playing the match in March – after the club’s request for foreign officials was turned down – but backed down after the Cairo-based club complained to the local Olympic Committee.


Five arrested in UK for disrupting film starring Israeli actor Gadot

Five arrested in UK for disrupting film starring Israeli actor Gadot
Updated 29 May 2025
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Five arrested in UK for disrupting film starring Israeli actor Gadot

Five arrested in UK for disrupting film starring Israeli actor Gadot

LONDON: London police on Wednesday arrested five people for trying to disrupt the filming of a movie starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot, a statement said.
Gadot, star of “Wonder Woman” and in “Fast and Furious” is in London to film a new thriller “The Runner.” She has been criticized by pro-Palestinian groups for expressing her support of Israel since the Gaza war erupted in 2023.
Police said officers were deployed to a “filming location” in Westminster “to identify suspects wanted in connection with offenses at previous film set protests and to deal with any new offenses.”
The arrests were for blocking an access to a place of work. Police said in a statement posted on social media that two of the arrests were for previous protests and three for action carried out Wednesday.
“While we absolutely acknowledge the importance of peaceful protest, we have a duty to intervene where it crosses the line into serious disruption or criminality,” said Superintendent Neil Holyoak in the statement.
“I hope today’s operation shows we will not tolerate the harassment of or unlawful interference with those trying to go about their legitimate professional work in London,” the officer added.
Pro-Palestinian protesters also disrupted a Hollywood ceremony in March when Gadot’s star on the Walk of Fame was unveiled.