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InPics: The 100 Most Powerful Arab Women 2016 – Healthcare & Science
Welcome to CEO Middle East’s sixth annual list of the world’s most powerful Arab women — our yearly look at the most important female influencers across the Arab world.
44 (NEW)
nRafia Ghubash
nPresident
nArab Network for Women, Science and Technology
nBahrain
nScience
nnThe former president of Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain, Professor Ghubash has long been a role model for Arab women in the Gulf. She has served as dean of the UAE University medical school, and, in 2012, s
46 (#48 in 2015)
nMaryam Matar
nChairwoman
nUAE Genetic Diseases Association
nUAE
nScience
nnDr Maryam Matar is one of the UAE’s finest public servants, and was the first Emirati woman to hold the director general in the Dubai Government. As well as leader of the UAE Genetic Disease Association, Matar is also Deputy Chairperson of Dubai Cares. Her many achievements include various outreach initiatives, including the ‘UAE Free of Thalassemia in 2012’, as well as the UAE Down’s Syndrome Association in 2005.
50 (NEW)
nSoha Al Qishawi
nEngineer
nNASA
n(US) Palestine
nScience
nnBased in Houston, Texas, the Palestinian is working on NASA’s Orion spacecraft programme, helping to design and engineer the vessel to transport astronauts into deep space. Al Qeshawi grew up in Gaza City but studied engineering at the University of Houston at Clear Lake, Texas. Soon after graduation, she began work on NASA’s Space Shuttle nprogramme, which she nwrapped up in 2011.
66 (#37 in 2015)
nSamia Al Amoudi
nCancer specialist
nSaudi Arabia
nHealthcare
nnHaving diagnosed herself with breast cancer in 2006, Al Amoudi has been a tireless campaigner in bringing the issue to prominence in the Middle East. The obstetrician, gynaecologist and assistant professor at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah continues to raise awareness through a regular column in Al Madinah newspaper. Samia Al Amoudi has played such a vital role in highlighting the importance of early examinations for breast cancer that in 2007 she was recognised by then US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice as being one of the most courageous women in the world. A trailblazer in more ways than one, Al Amoudi was also a member of the first group of doctors to graduate from the medical college at King Abdulaziz University in 1981.
70 (NEW)
nIqbal Al Assad
nDoctor
nPalestine
nScience
nnHaving graduated from high school at aged 12, Al Assad went on to graduate as the Arab world’s youngest ever doctor at aged 20 in 2013. The child prodigy, who grew up in a rural Lebanese village, she later received a medical scholarship from the Qatar Foundation, and now works at the Weill Cornell Medical College in Doha.
92 (NEW)
nMaha Al Muneef
nExecutive director
nNational Family Safety Program
nSaudi Arabia
nHealthcare
nnA specialist in paediatric infectious disesases, Al Muneef works to spread awareness about domestic violence and child abuse.
97 (#91 in 2015)
nIsmahane Elouafi
nDirector general
nInternational Centre for Biosaline Agriculture
nMorocco
nScience
nnWith more than 15 years’ experience in agricultural research, Elouafi is helping poor farmers in places where water is scarce.
