The year 2012 was a remarkable one for Saudi women. Many challenged their closed society and made the country proud with new inventions, researches and initiatives. We have compiled a list of 10 Saudi women who have reflected the development of Saudi society in the most spectacular way throughout the year.
1. Majda Abu Ras
Abu Ras is the first Arab woman to become a NASA researcher. In 2010, NASA appointed her as a member of the regional research team considering her national initiatives to protect the environment. Abu Ras is an academic who holds a doctorate degree in environmental studies and biotechnology from a UK university and a member of NASA’s scientific team. She is also the deputy executive manager of the Saudi Environmental Society.
2. Princess Ameera Al-Taweel
Al-Taweel was in top of the list of the most accomplished young leaders under the age of 30, according to a report by Gulf Business magazine. The list included 30 people from different fields who have a positive impact on the local community.
Al-Taweel is the vice chairperson of Alwaleed bin Talal Foundation, which supports billion dollar programs for poverty alleviation, disaster relief, women’s empowerment, and interfaith dialogue across the world.
3. Hayat Sindi
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recently appointed Sindi as goodwill ambassador to support science education, especially among girls. Sindi’s nomination comes in recognition of her work to create an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and social innovation for scientists, technologists, and engineers in the Middle East and beyond; her efforts to bring the youth closer to innovators; and her dedication to the ideals and aims of the organization.
Sindi has made major contributions to point-of-care diagnostics, medical testing at or near the site of patient care, specifically designed for the vast number of people who do not have access to hospitals and medical facilities.
She made this contribution through the invention of a biochemical sensor with thermo-elastic probes and her development of the Magnetic Acoustic Resonance Sensor.
4. Haifaa Al-Mansour
One of the main highlights of the Venice Film Festival 2012 is “Wadjda”, the first film to have been entirely filmed within Saudi Arabia by the wonderful Saudi director Haifaa Al-Mansour. Wadjda has won Best Arabic Feature Film at the Dubai International Film Festival and her lead actress, Waad Mohammed, has won best Female Arabic Actress for her role.
Saudi Arabia’s first woman filmmaker studied literature at the American University in Cairo and film at the University of Sydney.
Wadjda is considered the first feature movie that is completely shot in Saudi Arabia — more precisely in Riyadh — and it will only be available in the Kingdom on DVD or on television.
Al-Mansour had previously directed three short movies and the award-winning documentary “Women Without Shadows”, which explores the hidden lives of Gulf women.
5. Rajaa Alem
Alem is the first woman winner of the international Prize for Arabic Fiction, also known as the Arabic Booker, with her novel “The Dove’s Necklace” in 2011.
The novel pays tribute to old Makkah, which faces the difficult challenges of modern times. In its opening pages, Alem puts a voice to an alleyway in Makkah, which laments that the people disregard its experiences. She writes about characters inspired by her family and childhood memories of the hordes of people dressed in the same humble clothes of those that swarmed her city during last year’s busy holy season of Haj. The family home of her upbringing used to be on a mountain that no longer exists today. The Dove’s Necklace is dedicated to this.
6. Lubna Olayan
Olayan is the first Saudi woman to enter the business field to keep the Saudi economy moving instead of stacking her millions frozen in the bank. She succeeded in putting all social barriers aside and unleashed her ambition, becoming today the leader of all Saudi companies with estimated capital worth $10 billion. In May 2012, King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf has awarded Olayan with the insignia of Member First Class of the Royal Order of the Polar Star for contributions to the furthering of good relations between Sweden and Saudi Arabia.
7. Moudi Al-Khalaf
Al-Khalaf is the first Saudi woman to be assigned as the assistant attaché for the Saudi Cultural and Social Affairs in the United States. In addition to her job, she is the editor in chief of Almubtaath magazine in the state of Virginia. Her duties at the attaché include taking care of the well-being of tens of thousands of students and their families. She has a Ph.D. in applied linguistics.
8. Abeer Al-Namankany
Al-Namankany is a Saudi dentist who developed a new standard to measure anxiety in dental patients. She is specialized in hypnosis, child psychology and pediatric dentistry. She is an extremely dedicated researcher with a specific interest in young patients who show signs of dental fear, anxiety, phobia, and other behavioral problems.
The European Academy of Pediatric Dentistry in Switzerland has selected her as one of the top five young researchers among 450 at the European United level. Her research was nominated as the best research of 2012.
9. Badriya Al-Bishr
Al-Bishr is a famous Saudi columnist who recently won the Arab Press Price for best columnist for its editorial of a clear example of the work aimed to contribute to the upgrading of the reader’s conscious.
“Marry a Saudi” is Al-Bishr’s latest book, which is being displayed in the Riyadh Book Fair. The book is the first of a series of upcoming follow-ups by Al-Bishr and contains a number of her columns she published throughout the years. It has 210 pages and more than 100 columns varying from political and human interest to social topics.
10. Dr. Samia Al-Amoudi
Al-Amoudi is the first GCC woman to win a prestigious seat in the Union for the International Cancer Control’s (UICC) board of directors. The announcement was made at a conference in Montreal, Canada.
The seat will enable Al-Amoudi to acquire expert opinions and views of the cancer community to the global stage of the UICC at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and gain an official reaction from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN’s special Economic and Social Council (ECOSCO).
Al-Amoudi plans to take this chance to collaborate in the areas of advocacy and awareness, exchange knowledge with international organizations, and gain experience as a great asset to further our efforts in the area of cancer in the GCC. She is one of 14 newly elected members of the UICC board of directors from countries such as the US, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, India, Jordan, France, Norway and Japan. All members will serve a two-year term beginning this year.
