These 8 professions are now available to Saudi women

In recent months, Saudi women have been winning their rights one after the other. While extensive media attention was placed on the kingdom's women being granted their right to drive, there have been other triumphs as well.

These include orders allowing Saudi women to work in several professions and fields previously limited to men.

Here are a few of them:

Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia's General Security announced that soldier rank positions will now be open to Saudi women - the first time such a rank opens up to women in the country.

Opportunities in the field will be available in several of the kingdom's governorates including Riyadh, Mecca, al-Qusaim, and al-Madina.

Early in 2017, the kingdom's authorities announced the creation of 80,000 retail sector jobs for Saudi women.

At the time, the decision was announced by Saudi's Ministry of Labor and Social Development who said the move comes as part of a plan to feminize and nationalize "shops selling women's accessories at indoor malls, outdoor shopping centers, and independent stores."

In January of this year, the Saudi General Directorate of Passports made a historic announcement revealing it will start recruiting women to work at airports and land border-crossing points across the kingdom. 

Just a week after the opening of 140 positions in the field, 107,000 Saudi women applied.

In 2017, the Saudi Air Navigation Services Company (SANS) revealed its plans to employ female members of society as air traffic controllers.

According to Arabian Business, "the kingdom's national aviation training body, which operates under the General Authority of Civil Aviation, will run the one-year educational programme that will qualify Saudi females to work in the air traffic control profession for the first time ever."

Just months after a royal decree granted Saudi women their right to drive, many started applying to become taxi drivers.

Careem, a UAE-based taxi-hailing app that offers its services in the kingdom, also began training women for driving jobs. 

According to The Independent, the company had already signed up 1,000 Saudi women for positions just weeks after the driving ban was lifted. 

Driving instruction is next on the list of jobs recently opened for Saudi women. Just last month, the kingdom put together a team of international driving instructors who arrived in the country and are ready to train a generation of Saudi female driving instructors. 

According to About Her, the three instructors are "Susan Newbon from Wales, Deborah Sherwood from Canada, and Norma Adrianzen from the United States." In recent months, the country also announced it is opening its first-ever women's driving school.

Car inspection and maintenance also made the list of new professions for Saudi women. In the next few months, the kingdom will establish special vehicle maintenance centers where female mechanics will assist female drivers. 

The country has already started training programs for women interested in getting into the field.

For decades, Saudi women were not allowed on stage as men would take on female roles in all plays performed in the kingdom. 

However, this also changed earlier this year when Najat, a 21-year-old actress, starred in a Saudi theater adaptation of Disney film The Emperor’s New Groove.

The young actress is now known as the first woman to officially be allowed on stage in the ultra-conservative Gulf state. 

At the time, a hashtag titled "women on Saudi stages" trended on Twitter and came in reaction to the historic news.