RIYADH - A woman in Saudi Arabia has been appointed editor-in-chief of a national newspaper, the first female journalist to be promoted to such a public position in a country with an appalling record on women’s rights.
Somayya Jabarti, a former deputy editor, has become the new boss at the helm of the Jeddah-based English daily Saudi Gazette, the paper’s departing head has announced. “There’s a crack that has been made in the glass ceiling. And I’m hoping it will be made into a door,” Jabarti said after starting her new job, according to quotes carried by Al Arabiya News.
She added: “Being the first Saudi woman [editor-in-chief] is going to be double the responsibility … One’s actions will reflect upon my fellow Saudi women.”
 According to Jabarti, of around 20 Saudi Gazette reporters only three are male but the paper’s senior editorial positions are mainly held by men.
“The majority of our reporters are women – not because we are biased and choosing women over men. There are more women who are interested in being journalists, and who are journalists,” she said. “The success will not be complete unless I see my peers who are also Saudi women in the media, take other roles where they are decision-makers.”
News of her appointment was made public by the departing editor-in-chief, Khaled Almaeena, who had held the position for over a decade.
“Today I proudly leave my nominee, a female journalist - Somayya Jabarti - who will take the helm of the paper,” Almaeena wrote in an article published on Saudi Gazette’s website on Sunday. Almaeena will become the paper’s editor-at-large. “She has been associated with me for almost 13 years, and I’ve had the goal almost as long of wanting to see a Saudi woman enter the male-dominated bastion of editors-in-chief.”
Almaeena said Jabarti’s appointment was based on merit and described her as a dedicated journalist. “It was not a question of gender but of merit that decided and earned her this opportunity. I am proud to have played a role in her career,” he wrote. “She is determined and dedicated, and I can assure her and the team that I will be there to assist and advise, so that Saudi Gazette further advances as a media unit in a highly competitive and digital age.”
Before joining Saudi Gazette, Jabarti worked for a rival newspaper, Arab News. There, she rose from being a local desk editor to become the deputy national editor and finally the executive editor and managing editor.
Many Twitter users hailed Jabarti’s appointment but also referred to the kingdom’s restrictions on women drivers. “She’s not allowed to drive, but Somayya Jabarti is #saudiarabia’s first female newspaper editor,” tweeted Katelyn Verstraten, a journalism student.
In 2011, Jabarti wrote an article for Channel 4’s website that imagines the year 3000 when women could finally drive freely in Saudi Arabia.
Women’s rights in the Gulf kingdom have come under the spotlight in recent years mainly due to Saudi women’s campaign to be allowed to drive. A number of Saudi women have defied the ban, even posting videos of themselves driving on YouTube. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world in which women are banned from driving, according to Amnesty.
Amnesty said women in Saudi Arabia face “severe discrimination” in law and in practice.
On Monday Prince Charles was due to fly to the Middle East for a visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. On the eve of his four-day tour, Amnesty issued a reminder on the Saudi and Qatari records of human rights and urged the prince to take up the issue with their officials.
“Prince Charles’s trip comes with all the trappings and courtesies of an official royal visit, but if the opportunity arises for a frank discussion of human rights issues we’d certainly like him to take it,” said Allan Hogarth, the UK’s head of policy and government affairs for Amnesty.
“In Saudi Arabia, where any whisper of dissent can land you in prison and women are forbidden from getting behind the wheel of a car, Charles may find that numerous topics are extremely sensitive ones.”