A female journalist in Saudi Arabia made history as she became the first woman news presenter to deliver an evening newscast on state-owned television. Weam Al Dakheel garnered a lot of attention after she was seen co-hosting the news bulletin alongside a male news anchor. Appearing on Saudi TV, alongside anchor Omar Al Nashwan, she became the first female in the history of state-owned Channel 1 to present the nightly 9:30 newscast.
“Traditionally, men have dominated hard newscasts in Saudi Arabia, while female presenters focused more on soft morning newscasts, women’s programmes, cooking shows and weather updates,” The Khaleej Times reported explaining why it was a big moment. “Jumanah Al Shami was the first women to present morning newscasts in 2016. Today history repeats itself as Weam Al Dakheel becomes the presenter of the main nightly newscast, setting a precedent in a historic first for Saudi TV 1,” the channel said on its official Twitter handle. Her new role comes a year after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled his “Vision 2030″ plan to modernise the Kingdom and take major steps towards women’s empowerment.
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