Saudi women kick off 2013 with global success

While the rest of the world celebrates womanhood and women’s achievements in observance of the International Women’s Day on March 8, Saudi women show that they don’t need a particular day or month to prove themselves as leaders.
Three distinguished Saudi women brought laurels to their country by kick starting the year with global success.
Harvard University selected Hayat Sindi, the country’s top medical scientist and a member of the Shoura Council, as one of the participants in the USA Science and Engineering festival. Sindi, 45, has been chosen for the second time in a row.
The festival is hosted yearly, and is ranked as one of the important science and engineering events around the world. It hosts different science organizations, from high school science clubs, student organizations, colleges and universities to research institutes, engineering societies and many more.
Another accomplished Saudi woman, Majdah Aburas, an assistant professor, microbiologist and biotechnologist at King Abdulaziz University, was selected as one of the outstanding female scientists in the Women in Science Hall of Fame program.
Consulates in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in association with the US Department of State honor outstanding Arabs annually. The program involves fields like science, technology, engineering, health and environmental affairs.
It is held to inspire women across the region, honoring female scientists as role models.
The program chose Aburas for the scientific achievements she has made for the environment.
Aburas was the figure behind the Saudi Environmental Society (SENS), which was initiated mainly to influence the community and spread environmental awareness.
“My positive outlook kept me going to fight the challenges I’ve faced in this journey,” said Aburas. “Determination and persistence leads to achieving what you want. The feeling of responsibility toward my motherland motivated me to make it a better, healthy place.”
Saudi woman Noora Alharthi also tasted success this year. She was chosen among four other winners in the Fashion Week Las Vegas’ International Emerging Designer Competition. Alharthi is a 25-year-old Fashion Design student at Dar Al-Hekma College. The final results and winner will be announced sometime next month.
“My family had a big influence on me,” said Alharthi. “They encouraged me to pursue my interest in fashion.”