Arab Sisterhood: Meet the Siblings Making Waves in Middle Eastern Business
For years now, Arab women have become successful achievers in almost every field there is, accomplishing whatever they set their minds to. From health to design to business, to many other fields, we have hundreds of powerful examples across the Middle East of inspiring women who managed to challenge the stereotype that men are better leaders.
And with the rise of social media, we discovered several sisters, who have been slaying the business game. Here are some of the most popular female Arab siblings, some of which have separate businesses, and others who are soul and business sisters. The two things that they all have in common, are that all of them are sisters, and all of them are successful.
The Kattan Sisters
If you’re into make-up, you definitely know Huda Beauty. Huda Kattan is an Iraqi-American businesswoman and makeup artist, who in 2013 became the Founder and CEO of Huda Beauty, an icon and one of the world’s top cosmetics brands today. Huda Beauty is a family business; her older sister, Alya, who first introduced her to makeup years ago, is the Chief Instagram Officer for the company, and her younger sister, Mona, is the company’s Global President.
Okhtein
As the name “okhtein” (two sisters) suggests, Aya and Mounaz Abdelraouf are two Egyptian sisters who founded a handbag label aiming to “redefine the idea of luxury”. While Mounaz is inspired by history and has a loud aesthetic, Aya is more minimal and subtle. Launched in 2013, this brand quickly became the talk of the town and a global icon, being worn by famous figures like Beyonce, Jordanian Queen Rania, Gigi Hadid, and Egypt’s First Lady.
The Abduls
Thana and Sakhaa Abdul are young Saudi sisters who founded Coded Nation, an e-commerce brand that spreads diversity and connects emerging designers. After their first small collection sold out in less than 12 hours, they started creating more collections and working on designer collaborations.
The Kanjo Sisters
Nourhan and Dayana are Syrian siblings who always knew that they wanted to start their own designing company, so they started Kanjo Design House. After studying abroad, they saw many opportunities in Egypt, and decided to work on eco-friendly projects and designs, to raise more awareness on them in the country.
The Wazen Sisters
The Lebanese Wazen family has three female siblings, with all of them just as successful as the other, each in their own field: Karen, Andrea, and Jessica. Karen Wazen is an iconic social media influencer with over 3 million followers, and a fashion blogger who runs the blog Karen’s Choice, Andrea is a shoe designer who runs her eponymous brand Andrea Wazen, and Jessica is a chef who manages the catering company Saveur Plus.
