The sixth annual Emirati Women’s Day lands on August 28. Whether they are politicians, tech entrepreneurs, managers, chefs, ballerinas, figure skaters or attempting to climb Mt Everest, Emirati women have excelled across every field. Here’s a small glimpse into women-to-celebrate in 2020.
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Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth: Noura Bint Mohammad Al Kaabi, UAE Minister of Culture and Youth, was appointed her most recent position in July. Prior to that, she was the Minister for Culture and Knowledge Development since 2017. Additionally, Al Kaabi is the Chairperson of the National Committee for Education, Culture and Science. Recognised for her bright and unwavering disposition, Al Kaabi also serves as the President of Zayed University.
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Sara Al Madani, Entrepreneur: Sara Al Madani is an entrepreneur, innovator and public speaker. With more than 300,000 followers on Instagram, Al Madani shares her career journey, as well as her experience with motherhood. In 2014, she became the youngest board member on the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In 2018, she received an honorary doctorate in Business Administration in Women Leadership from Eton University in Manchester. Most recently, Al Madani cofounded the platform Hala Hi, where fans can commission celebrities for video shout-outs.
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Danah Al Ali, Mountaineer: Danah Al Ali describes herself as an “Emirati mountaineer with a goal to be the first Emirati woman to attempt Mt Everest.” The ambitious athlete, mother-of-two and office manager has tried for Everest five times. Most recently, her preparations were interrupted by COVID-19. However, Al Ali’s dream continues. Her first foray into mountaineering was in 2013, when she conquered Mt Kilimanjaro. “Mountaineering is not all physical, it is very much about mental strength and women have that, especially if you are a mum,” she told Gulf News in 2016.
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Hind Al Boom, Manager, Director General’s Office at Expo 2020 Dubai: As Manager of Content Design and Development at the Director General’s Office at Expo 2020 Dubai, Hind Al Boom works closely with international participants to ensure their content and programmes are echoed across the Expo site, integrated on visitor experience platforms, and promote meaningful engagement among visitors of Expo 2020 Dubai.
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Salama Mohamed, Content creator and advocate: Salama Mohamed is better know as part of a duo — she and husband Khalid Al Ameri have reached a worldwide audience with their informative and entertaining social media antics, which range from pretend fights to educational and uplifting content. Mohamed is also a mum of two boys and an advocate for vitiligo awareness. Vitiligo, which became more widely represented in the beauty industry via fashion model Winnie Harlow, is a condition in which the skin loses pigment cells, resulting in discoloured patches on the face and body. Mohamed’s Instagram, where she has more than 600,000 followers, boasts the bio: “Blessed with vitiligo. #InOurSkinWeWin”.
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Butheina Kazim, Founder of Cinema Akil: Butheina Kazim changed the moviegoing scene in the UAE forever with Cinema Akil in 2018, a single-screen art house venue that screens primarily independent films that you wouldn’t be likely to see at major multiplexes. Cinema Akil was a nomadic concept in 2014, showing up as a pop-up, before it found its permanent home in Al Serkal Avenue. It also holds themed film schedules, such as Reel Palestine and, currently running until September 3, Voyage to France. The lockdown-inspired ‘Voyage’ series gives viewers the experience of travelling around the world through the big screen, even if they can’t physically hop onto the next flight out.
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Jouhayna Al Mheiri, Air Traffic Controller: Jouhayna Al Mheiri is the second Emirati female Air Traffic Control Officer in the Sheikh Zayed Air Navigation Centre — and she’s the youngest. When she’s not controlling air traffic, she enjoys creating minimalist black-and-white illustrations using pen and paper. Early on, Al Mheiri dreamed of becoming a pilot. But according to Global Air Traffic Management, when she learnt about air traffic controllers, where dedicated individuals direct aircraft on the ground and through controlled airspace, she thought to herself: “Why control one aircraft when I can control them all?”
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Nayla Al Khaja, Filmmaker: Nayla Al Khaja touts herself as the UAE’s first Emirati female film director-writer. The self-proclaimed “queen of shorts” recently forayed into directing her first feature-length film, the horror flick ‘The Shadow’. In November, Al Khaja was heavily pregnant as she promoted the film with a chilling 15-minute screening, which she hoped would encourage funding for the project. In December, the filmmaker gave birth to twins Noah and Dana, which she announced to her nearly 15,000 Instagram followers through the “best post of my life.” Al Khaja is an outspoken proponent for women in cinema, and proudly revealed that 40 per cent of ‘The Shadow’s’ crew is made up of women.
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Afra Atiq, Poet: Afra Atiq is an award-winning spoken word artist and scholar who holds a PhD in Media & Creative Industries. In June, Atiq announced her graduation on Instagram: “Officially, officially graduated. Dr Afra, PhD. To the dreamers, writers, poets and anyone who was ever told they can’t — This is our VICTORY.” Born to an Emirati father, and a Japanese-American mother, the poet has been featured in at least 13 cities across four countries. Atiq has also performed across various iconic stages in the UAE, including the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Dubai Opera stage.
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Roudha Al Marri, Author: Best-selling author Roudha Al Marri enjoys immersing herself in different cultures. So, in 2018, she decided to pay it forward. Teaming up with Italian writer Illaria Caielli, she co-authored the fast-selling book ‘UAE 101: Stories and Cultural Learnings’, hoping to share Emirati culture with the world. Al Marri is currently working on her second book, ‘101 Misconceptions about the UAE, Explained!’ She has her own publishing house, House 101, with the aim of releasing more of these books.
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Zahra Lari, Figure skater: Zahra Lari is a trailblazer. The 25-year-old is the first Emirati figure skater to ever compete internationally — and the first figure skater to compete in hijab. She even got a deduction for the garment at her junior international debut in the European Cup in Italy during the 2011-12 season, as the headscarf wasn’t considered an approved part of her costume. Lari, whose father is Emirati and whose mother is from North Carolina, US, has been skating since she was 13 years old. She got her inspiration after watching the Disney film ‘Ice Princess’. It’s been reported that there is currently a documentary by the same name in the works, which chronicles Lari’s journey so far. Lari, who is a five-time Emirati national champion, earlier told Gulf News: “My major challenge was to make people understand figure skating is not dancing, but an actual Olympic sport.” Message received!
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Amal Murad, Parkour and freerunning coach: The BBC Travel Show in 2018 called Amal Murad “the first Emirati woman to coach and compete in parkour or freerunning.” Passionate and relentless, the athlete — and mother of one — most recently launched #LeapMom, an 8-week post-partum programme, which is currently priced at Dh600. She also announced that she is working on a 4-week programme, #LeapStrong. In 2016, Murad spoke to Gulf News about some of her biggest detractors. “I had a mother tell me that she didn’t want her daughter to grow up and be like me, which hurt me a lot,” recalled Murad. “I don’t blame anyone for what they think, because that’s how we were raised to think. This has to change through our action.” Thankfully, what doesn’t break Murad seems to make her stronger.
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Sahar Al Awadhi, Pastry chef: The first and only Emirati pastry chef in the region, Sahar Al Awadhi began her career at Zayed University, where she handled social media and marketing. Deep down, she knew her heart belonged elsewhere. In 2016, Al Awadhi got a job at Burj Al Arab as a Junior Sous Chef, and worked her way up to becoming a Pastry Chef. “At Burj Al Arab, no two days are the same,” she told Gulf News last year. “Typically, I’ll have lots of emails to work through, as well as food tastings and menu development, which keeps things interesting and exciting.”
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Amna Al Hashemi, Chef and restaurateur: Emirati chef Amna Al Hashemi opened her first restaurant, Mitts & Trays, four years ago — and it’s still going strong. Earlier this year, the BBC called Al Hashemi “the first female chef in the UAE to own her own restaurant.” But, Al Hashemi dismisses the description as “pretentious” — not wanting to alienate herself from her guests, nor wanting to put herself on a pedestal.
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Yasmin Baker, Aerialist: Yasmin Baker is the first-ever Emirati aerialist, preferring to keep her feet off the ground. But she had to get comfortable with her acrophobia — an extreme or irrational fear of heights — in order to get here. Baker grew up watching human circus shows. Early on in her life, she sat in the audience of Cirque du Soleil, putting the gravity-defying art form on her radar. Baker, who studied university in Washington in the US, initially encountered aerial arts through a professor’s wife, who taught her her first lesson. But, Baker said she had to build up her upper body strength quite a bit since then!
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Alia Al Neyadi, Ballerina: Alia Al Neyadi is the first professional Emirati ballerina. Born to an Emirati father and a Russian mother, Al Neyadi ‘retired’ from the art form when she was 22 — but she was back two years later in 2018; she missed dancing too much to truly let it go. Plus, she was slated to perform at a beautiful venue, the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. Al Neyadi’s journey began when she was only five years old. She began training as a ballerina at the Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi, and she was only one of five Emirati girls to take it up. But really, it starts with her ballet instructor mum, Svetlana, who first visited the UAE in the 1980s, when she was invited to perform with the Moscow Ballet Company in Al Ain. There, she met Al Neyadi’s father, Abdalla Al Neyadi — and the rest was dance history.
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