5 Emirati women inspiring change: Take a look

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Empowering women and giving them the right opportunities is not new; it has been a priority since the foundation of the UAE, HE Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi, the first Emirati woman to assume a ministerial post, had said to me during an exclusive interaction.

There are many examples to prove it. Several women are behind the UAE’s Hope Probe project with a woman called HE Sara Al Amiri, who chairs the UAE Space Agency. Almost 70% of the engineers are women at Strata [a UAE-based composite aero-structures manufacturing facility]. There are several women engineers in the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation. If anything, barriers are being broken and the balance is shifting across industries.

Yet, fuelling sustainable change is a long road, a constant journey that requires passion and grit, empathy and compassion for self and others and, importantly, a deep desire to overcome the fear of failure.

On Emirati Women’s Day (August 28), here’s a look at women who are inspiring change in many ways.

Najla Al Midfa, Chief Executive Officer, Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa)

Najla Ahmed Al-Midfa is the CEO of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa), a government-supported entity launched in 2016, with a mandate to build the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Sharjah, and support entrepreneurs as they build and grow innovative startups that will contribute positively to the region’s economy. To date, Sheraa has built a portfolio of over 150 startups, which have raised $128 million-plus in investment, created over 1,500 jobs, and generated more than $187 million in cumulative revenue.

Asked if she could fuel a change to make the world a better place, what would it be, here’s what she said: “My vision for transforming the world revolves around a single goal: to make education and knowledge universally accessible. The absence of equitable access to education hinders progress and obstructs the realisation of human potential, constituting a grave injustice that plagues our society. As such, I envision a future where every individual has an equal opportunity to gain knowledge, realise their aspirations, and ultimately make meaningful contributions to their community. Achieving this goal requires the alignment of critical stakeholders across governments, non-profits and the private sector. Our collective focus should be on creating the requisite infrastructure, resources and technologies that empower individuals to learn and grow, thereby breaking down the barriers to equitable access to education. This transformation must be driven by a profound shift in societal values, where education is perceived as a fundamental right, a prerequisite for economic growth, and a foundation for social equity. Sheraa is committed to spearheading this vision, where young entrepreneurs are equipped with the skills and knowledge to transform their communities, and together, we create a future that is more prosperous, just and equitable.”

Nayla Al Baloushi, First Female Emirati Mountaineer

Nayla Al Baloushi, first female Emirati Mountaineer to reach the summit of Mount Everest and asked for a message for our readers, she said: “Never give up, no matter how difficult the challenges may seem. My journey to the top of Mount Everest was not an easy one, but it taught me the importance of perseverance and determination. I faced numerous physical and mental challenges along the way, but I remained focused and driven. I knew that I had to overcome my fear of failure to achieve my goal. With hard work and a positive attitude, I finally reached the summit after weeks of arduous climbing. I hope my journey to the top of Mount Everest inspires others to pursue their passion and to never let fear hold them back.”

Nayla Al Khaja, UAE’s First Female Emirati Film Director

Nayla Al Khaja brings a wealth of experience and cultural knowledge to filmmaking. She is committed to telling stories that are true, authentic and uninhibited. Asked how challenging it is to be the first mover in any industry, she said: “It’s extremely challenging to be a first mover because there is no foreplan or benchmark to refer to. You’ve to literally create your own manual and model, making it easier for others who come after you. In my case it was crucial to undertake projects that drove return on investments to increase the appetite to support new voices in the industry. There were personal challenges too as my parents were not thrilled that I chose filmmaking due to a certain kind of stigma attached to it. Even as years have gone by challenges remain, more so because once we’ve achieved some success, we aspire to scale higher. On challenging day, I draw inspiration from things like receiving a letter from a young teenager who told me how she got inspired by my journey to study filmmaking. Also, the fact that two of my films made it to Netflix and the successful completion of my first feature film keep me going.”

Butheina Kazim, Founder, Cinema Akil

Butheina Kazim founded Cinema Akil, the only independent arthouse cinema in the Gulf region that brings quality films from across the world to audiences in the UAE. Commenting on the importance of overcoming the fear of failure especially for entrepreneurs, she said: “You never fully overcome fear, but the difference is doing it anyway even with the fear. You learn to become familiar with that voice and recognise it for what it is: just a voice and push through trying your best to not get overcome by it. This is even more important than a clear-cut win or lose scenario. It is much more interesting and inspiring to me to witness those who are successful through their agility and the spectrum of their fears and triumphs than those with a single-track route to so-called success or recognition. The complicated path is one that is much more attainable for more people and entrepreneurs than the anomaly of the fearless maverick.”

Sahar Al Awadhi, UAE’s First Female Emirati Pastry Chef

Chef Sahar Parham Al Awadhi joined Burj Al Arab in 2016, and became the Head Pastry Chef in 2019, also becoming the first Emirati Pastry Chef and the first Emirati woman to hold the title. Sharing the achievement that she is most proud of, Al Awadhi said: “I’m generally proud of everything I’ve done because I believe you should not do anything if you’re not proud of it or if it doesn’t resonate with your philosophy and your essence. But perhaps my favourite achievement was finally taking the step to work in a kitchen. It was a long two-year journey getting there between fearing something unfamiliar and employers not knowing how to hire an Emirati chef – nine years later, I can proudly say I’ve never looked back. Yes, there was no real benchmark to set against, so there was a lot of pressure to get things perfectly right. But I took the opportunity to use chefs around the world to benchmark against and push myself to achieve international standards.”