Celebrating Emirati Women’s Day, We Look at the Women Under 30 and Thriving
August 28th 2019 meets the fifth annual Emirates Women’s Day. Starting in 2015, HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Mother of the Nation picked the day to bring light to women’s patience, power and ability to raise future generations. To celebrate day, here are Emirati women under 30 who have already made outstanding achievements.
Fatima Al Qubaisi
Emirati activist and feminist, Fatima, is the UAE’s first female to attend and graduate from Harvard’s law school. She initially went into law school to defend and protect women, but despite her title as a cooperate lawyer, she still fights for women’s empowerment.
Salma Al Baloushi
At the tender age of 24, she became the first female Emirati aviator. Becoming Etihad’s first female pilot proudly put her country’s name in the sky. The supermom manages to juggle her career and work life after becoming first officer in 2012.
Zahra Lari
Emirati figure skate champion, Zahra Lari, is the first Hijabi figure skater, the first Middle Eastern woman to land a triple jump trophy at EduSport in Bucharest, and the first Emirati athlete to represent the UAE in the Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.
Mariam Al Safar
Fascinated by toy trains as a child, Al Safar became the first Emirati woman to drive a train in the Middle East. With the country’s advanced metro system, she proves women no longer have to be passengers on trains, but can drive them too.
Nahla Al Rostamani
Nahla, the first female Emirati F3 driver, made her name in a male-dominated scene. Her passion for motorsports started at 12 and after pursuing her dream, she gained the respect of both genders.
Alia Al Mansoori
At the age of 15, school girl Alia won the prestigious Genes in Space competition. She has big dreams of becoming the first female Emirati astronaut. Now 17, she’s continuously working in labs conducting scientific research with hopes of changing the world.
Maryam Bahlooq
Maryam is the CEO of Tanfeeth, making her the first Emirati woman to hold such a position in the company running the country’s biggest bank. With 13 years of experience under her belt, she’s unstoppable.
Shamma Al Mazrui
At 22, Shamma was appointed UAE’s Minister of State for Youth Affairs, making her the youngest government minister in the world! The young politician represents youth issues and aspirations and sets plans and strategies to utilize their energy.
Reem Al Marzouqi
This young Emirati engineer designed driverless car. The invention intended for people with disabilities landed her first patent in the male-dominated field, making her the first in the country. She’s an inspiration to female engineers in the region.
Balqees Fathi
With almost 10 million followers on Instagram, Emirati-Yemeni singer Balqees made the Forbes 30 under 30 list for most influential personality in music. She was the face of Piaget’s Ramadan campaign in May, and brand ambassador for Pantene and L’azurde to name a few of her achievements.
Elissa Freiha
Emirati-Lebanese businesswoman and activist Elissa is the co-founder of Womena, a dubai-based platform that uses angel investors to help women establish their own startups.
Taim AlFalasi
Social media influencer Taim has over 2.5 million Instagram followers and over 500,000 YouTube subscribers where she shares her life through travel, explorations, and breaking boundaries. She strives towards helping women find their creativity and following their truest dreams.
Amna Al Haddad
Amna is the first hijabi athlete to compete in CrossFit and Olympic weightlifting in the Middle East.The former journalist has been featured in countless Nike and sports campaigns and now inspires women with her motivational speeches.
