Athari Alkhaldi stands out amid a sea of men and falcons at the Middle East’s top falconry competition: the first Saudi woman to qualify and participate in the event.

“With my participation … I proved I am here, that women can join this field, that it’s not only restricted to men,” she said, alongside her falcon Ma’aned.

Falconry is an important part of the desert heritage of Arabs of Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries going back thousands of years.

The two-week King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival, which gathers more than 4,000 falcons from the Gulf and further afield, honored Alkhaldi’s presence with an award details ⇒

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