I had a chance to live in Saudi Arabia when my father was working for a Dutch Construction company way back in 1975. At the time Saudi Arabia was an extremely conservative society. 

Women were always clad in the black Abayas and were not allowed to drive cars.

But winds of change are blowing over the kingdom, it is bringing new life to the country and women are being recognized for who they are and the long held leash is coming off.

They can drive now…not just drive…they can become race car drivers and take part in this male-dominated sport.

Reema Juffali is such a trail blazer, she is the first Saudi woman to race in the kingdom. 

This was unimaginable for women in the ultra-conservative kingdom until June 2018, when it overturned the world’s only ban on female motorists as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s wide-ranging liberalization drive. 

Juffali, a 27-year-old who made her motoring debut just months after the decades-old ban ended, is competing in the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY, an all-electric race in Diriyah, close to the capital Riyadh. 

Juffali, who hails from the western city of Jeddah and was educated in the United States, is participating as what organisers call a “VIP” guest driver, becoming the first Saudi woman to race on home soil. 

It is a “watershed” moment for the kingdom and thousands are cheering her on as a professional race car driver

Juffali, who made one of her first appearances in competitive racing at the F4 British Championship at Brands Hatch in April, has only about a year of professional racing experience under her belt. 

But she has had a passion for fast cars since her teenage years and grew up watching Formula One.

She passed her driving test after she moved to the United States to study some years ago, and is now one of only a handful of Saudi woman to have obtained a “racing licence” in her home country, a mandatory requirement to race professionally. 

Even outside the kingdom, only a few Saudi women have raced professionally. 

For the women in Saudi Arabia it’s something so far-fetched and unbelievable that it all seems like a dream come true. 

Reema dreams of one day racing at Le Mans — a 24-hour competition in France that is one of the world’s most prestigious and gruelling competitions.

She is indeed the First to race in the kingdom but certainly not the last.