Today, exactly one year ago, women in Saudi Arabia started driving again. On the 24th June 2018, a driving ban that had been in place for many decades, was lifted. It was a huge step forward. To celebrate this day, we're replaying our very firs

Resilience

Jun 9th, 2019 16m 1s

In our second chat with Modia Batterjee, she talks about her work as a resilience practitioner. Through her involvement with Al Bidayah Centre, the breastfeeding clinic in Jeddah, she's come to realize the tenacity of Saudi women in their day t

Modia's Story - Nurturing Motherhood

May 19th, 2019 23m 6s

Saudi Arabia has become a nation of bottle feeders due to the increased availability of infant formula during the oil boom. The country also has a high prevalence of breast cancer deaths amongst Saudi women due to a lack of awareness of methods

The Graffiti Artist

May 1st, 2019 16m 36s

Graffiti plays an important role in urban landscapes in cities around the world. Here, in Saudi Arabia, it's more subtle because you're not allowed to do graffiti just anywhere. But the graffiti movement, while more controlled, is beginning to

The Storyteller

Apr 13th, 2019 20m 26s

Danya Al Hamrani has been telling stories for as long as she can remember. In 2008, she and her business partner, Dania Nassif, started the production company, Eggdancer - the first company in Saudi Arabia, to be owned and run by women. Danya

Maggie's journey

Mar 29th, 2019 15m 26s

Maggie Andriopoulos has done more than 5500 dives, mostly in the Red Sea off Jeddah. She moved to Saudi Arabia with her family for a two year stay, but two Gulf wars and thirty years later, she's still enjoying life here. Credit: Hans and L

Creating Hope

Mar 16th, 2019 18m 58s

Dr Uzma Raheem is passionate about helping those with special needs. 19 years ago she started Hope Centre for Exceptional Needs, in Jeddah. It was the first multi-lingual centre of its kind in Saudi Arabia. Back then, some people didn't know th

Challenging Bipolar taboos

Mar 2nd, 2019 15m 59s

Bipolar is a mental disorder that affects about 60 million people around the world. There are medications available to help people with this disorder but the stigma that comes with having Bipolar is preventing a lot of people from accessing med

Episode 10: Cat Mama

Jan 26th, 2019 26m 12s

Saudi Arabia has a huge cat population. Many of them are strays. There are so many, in fact, that they are regarded as pests by many people. One woman in Jeddah doesn't share this view. She's opened up her home and her heart to these animals. S

Episode 9: One deep breath

Jan 8th, 2019 18m 19s

With just one deep breath Mariam Shalan can reach depths of 50m. At only 17 years old, she holds the Egyptian National Record for 50m free diving in the category Constant Weight, and is the youngest professional female free diver in Saudi Arabi

Episode 8 Finding Eddie: Can be listened to without headphones

Jan 2nd, 2019 23m 36s

Open Paws is a dog rescue centre in Jeddah. Dogs have had a bad reputation as being dirty and dangerous so it's quite unusual to see or hear a dog in this region. But this seems to be changing. However, the number of abandoned, lost or unwante

Episode 8: Finding Eddie

Dec 15th, 2018 23m 51s

Open Paws Jeddah is a rescue centre for dogs. In this region, dogs have had a bad reputation of being dirty and dangerous, so its quite unusual to hear or even see a dog. But this seems to be changing. However, the number of abandoned, lost or

Episode 7: Susie of Arabia

Nov 29th, 2018 27m 48s

Susie met Adnan in 1977, while they were both students at The University of Arizona. She's American and he's Saudi. They fell in love. After a long courtship, they married in 1990 and lived in America for 30 years. Then, in 2007, they moved to

Episode 6: Bliss Run

Nov 16th, 2018 17m 16s

Everyday, in many cities around the world, women lace up their running shoes and head out the door, to run in the streets and parks of their community. However, in Saudi Arabia this is a relatively new concept for women. Up until 2013, girls in

Episode 5: A passion for music

Nov 2nd, 2018 14m 26s

Nadia Dandachi has been playing the piano for 21 years. She's only 24 years old. She's performed at Davos in front of world leaders and spoken at the United Nations about the development of Arts and Music in Saudi Arabia. Even though there have

Episode 4: Diving beneath the North Pole.

Oct 19th, 2018 14m 10s

Mariam Ferdous is the first Saudi woman and only one of three women worldwide to dive at the North Pole. This audio uses sound from Free Sound: Underwater bubbling by Hampusnoren (https://freesound.org/people/Hampusnoren)

Sporty Abayas

Oct 3rd, 2018 13m 11s

Sporty abayas have made it easier for women in Saudi Arabia to exercise in public. The designer, Eman Joharjy tells us her story.

At the top of the world: Raha Moharrak's story

Oct 3rd, 2018 19m

Raha Moharrak is the first Saudi woman and youngest Arab to climb Mount Everest. She tells us about her experience.

Driving, at last!

Oct 3rd, 2018 15m 33s

In 2017, the driving ban against women in Saudi Arabia was lifted. Those with licenses drove for the first time at midnight on June 24th, 2018. This is the story of two of those women.

Rate