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As the world is increasingly becoming a blend of Eastern and Western cultures, these five Arab women define success in our modern world. From fashion to law, here are 5 Arab women at the top of their profession:
Amal Clooney, born in Lebanon, has been the advisor to top leaders and officials such as the Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, and Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General for the United Nations. Clooney’s family fled Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War in the 1980s and moved to England. She received her law degree from New York University School of Law in 2001. While Amal Clooney has become a style icon since then, her extensive representation in notable cases trumps her fashion legacy.
She is well known for representing international journalists and for working toward greater recognition of the Armenian Genocide. She presented an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in regards to the denial of the Armenian Genocide that took place in 1915. Her high profile status as a human rights lawyer has been matched with great publicity, as she married actor George Clooney in 2014.
Zaha Hadid is an Iraqi architect who has designed and built everywhere from China to Rome. Her work is striking and modern. Recently she was acclaimed by arcspace.com as the “uncrowned queen of contemporary iconic architecture.” As avant-garde and futuristic as her buildings and designs are, Hadid similarly represents just how avant-garde and futuristic a social, progressive woman is.
In 2004, she became the first woman to win the prestigious Pritzker Prize, and she was also awarded the Stirling Prize award in 2010 and 2011. She has been listed in Time Magazine’s list of “100 Most Influential People in the World.” In a male dominated field, Zaha Hadid Architects is a global leader in architectural design.
Nemat Shafik was born in Alexandria, Egypt but moved back and forth between the U.S. and Egypt throughout her childhood and college years. After earning her PhD in Economics from the University of Oxford, she joined the World Bank. According to Forbes Middle East, Shafik became the first-ever Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, specifically appointed to oversee markets and banking. At the age of thirty-six, she became the World Banks’ youngest vice-president.
Ayah Bdeir is the founder of littleBits, “a platform of easy-to-use electronic building blocks for creating inventions large and small,” according to littleBits.com. These building blocks are used for both prototype experimentation and as children’s learning tools in the classroom. Bdeir finished her undergraduate studies from the American Univeristy of Beirut and moved on to study at MIT to earn a Master’s in computer culture. littleBits is currently worth around $60 million. Bdeir was born in Quebec but is ethnically Lebanese.
Reem Accra is a luxury fashion designer that styles celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry and Madonna. She began as a bridal designer and has built her line into a full brand in 2003. Today, she remains one of the leading designers in bridal fashion. Accra was born in Beirut, Lebanon and graduated from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. In addition to her celebrity fans in the U.S., Accra also has a large clientele in the Middle East. Today, her designs are carried in more than 150 locations as well as on e-commerce platforms such as SHOPBOP.
