In honour of the 89th Saudi National Day, AboutHer.com has compiled a list of remarkable Saudi women that have motivated us to reach higher heights. With careers spanning from tech and finance to sports and gastronomy, here are 89 Saudi Arabian women with fervent work ethics that inspire us, intelligent minds that teach us, charismatic flairs that move us, and most importantly, passionate hearts that show us what the female population in Saudi Arabia is all about.
46- Fatimah Baeshen
Fatimah Baeshen is the former spokeswoman for the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washing in DC. Before that, she was an economic consultant, and has worked in finance in the following places: Aon, the Islamic Development Bank, the World Bank, the Saudi Ministry of Labour, and the Ministry of Economy and Planning.
47- Hana Al Syead
Hana Al Syead has over 25 years of combined experience in system’s banking and business operations. She is currently a member of the senior leadership team at Olayan Financing Company, a leading family-owned conglomerate in Saudi Arabia. Hana is also an advisor on Women’s Economic Participation to the Global Women’s Leadership Program. Hana has been advocating the economic inclusion of women since 2015, by conducting workshops, dialogue sessions, and practical method learning all across the globe.
48- Norah Abdulrahman al-Yousef
Al-Yousef is the chairwoman of the Saudi Economic Association, and the only woman on the board of directors. The SEA which aims at developing scientific thought in the field of economy and providing the opportunity for workers in this field in the public and private sectors to contribute to the movement of scientific progress.
49- Samar Bint Mazin Saleh
Samar Bint Mazin Saleh was appointed as the commercial attaché at the Saudi Commercial Attaché's Office in Tokyo, by the Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment. Saleh worked as in-charge for developing trade exchange at the Commercial Attaché's Office in the Kingdom’s Embassy in Italy prior to her recent appointment.
50- Kholoud Mousa
Mousa is the first Saudi woman licensed to practice as a certified public accountant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She is a member of SOCPA (Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants) and has been appointed as a partner in KPMG’s Jeddah office.
51- Basmah Omair
Omar is a businesswoman and the CEO of Alsayedah Khadijah Bint Khuwailid Lobbying Center. She also attended the W20 Summit, which focused on Financial and Labor Market Inclusion amony other things. Her participation was to enhance the role of the woman in the economy.
52- Saja Kamal
Saja Kamal is the first Saudi football player to enter the Guinness World Records Book for playing in the highest altitude football match on Mount Kilimanjaro.
53- Nada Abo Alnaja
Nada Abo Alnaja is the first Saudi woman to compete in an international championship for women in Squash and the first Saudi professional female athlete to compete in Saudi Arabia.
54- Lubna Alomair
Lubna Alomair is a Saudi female Olympic fencer who participated in the 2016 Olympic Games.
55- Kariman Abuljadayel
Kariman Abuljadayel is a sprinting athlete and the first Saudi woman to compete in the 100 meters at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
56- Shatha Saleh Al-Mutairi
Shatha Saleh Al-Mutairi is a badminton athlete who competed at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
57- Amal Baatia
Amal Baatia is a fitness coach specialized in Crossfit and Calisthenics, and a board member of the Saudi Fitness and Wellness Federation.
58- Sara Mokhtar
Sara Mokhtar is a certified Kyokushin karate, kickboxing and Aikido instructor. She is also an assistant professor at King Abdulaziz University.
59- Yasmine Gahtani
Yasmin Gahtani is the first Saudi wall-climbing instructor certified by the American Mountain Guides Association, and a board member of the Saudi Climbing Association.
60- Mariam Fardous
Mariam Fardous is the first Arab to dive in the North Pole, and the 3rd woman in the world to do so. She has a master scuba diver certification from the Blue Reef Divers in Jeddah, and has trained in specialized diving techniques in Russia. She also has 2 Master’s degrees in pediatrics from London and epidemiology from Riyadh.
61- Aseel Al Hamad
Aseel Al Hamad is KSA’s representative of Women Motorsport. She is the first female board member of the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation and is a member of the International Automobile federation.
62- Ghada Aboud
This Saudi author’s debut novel, Bipolar (2018), tackles a rather taboo subject in the kingdom. She deems the reasoning around the psychological disorder, which is often “romanticized” and associated with talent, to be completely destructive. Consequently, she tackles that rationale in her book through inventing a character of a therapist who is diagnosed with the disorder herself. The piece of work is infused with metaphors comparing the illness tropes to Jeddah area, and other forms of literary masterpieces and life lessons that allow us to accept our selves regardless of the downfalls and victories.
63- Raghad Bu Arish
Raghad Bu Arish is a competing runner, and the Kingdom’s only female athlete to compete at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in the women’s 100 meters.
64- Hasna Al-Hamad
Hasna Al-Hamad is the first Saudi female fencer to represent KSA and win the Arab fencing championship.
65- Raja’a Alem
Alem is perhaps one of the most eminent names on the global scene. She is the receiver of many esteemed awards, most prominently the Arab Booker Prize in 2011 for her novel, The Dove’s Necklace – Tawk Al Hamam. Alam is the write of many noteworthy works, some of which have been translated into English and Spanish.
66- Asmaa Al-Yemeni
Asmaa Al-Yemeni is the founder of the first speed walking all-female team in Riyadh.
67- Rasha Al-Khamis
Rasha Al-Khamis is the first certified Saudi female boxer. The trainer has also climbed two summits, broken a Guinness World Record, and holds boxing classes that empower and positively impact other women.
68- Raha Moharrak
Raha Moharrak is the youngest Arab and the first Saudi woman to climb Mount Everest. She also has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Vinson, Mount Elbrus, Aconcagua, Kala Pattar, Pico de Orizaba and Iztaccihuatl.
69- Fatimah Al Baloushi
Fatimah Al Baloushi is a cycler and the founder of the Saudi cycling team, HerRide. She represented the country in the 2017 European Tour of the World Cycling Championship.
70- Nada Abed
Nada Abed is the first Saudi female fencer who won the bronze medal in the 2018 International Fencing Championship for the ‘under 15’ category in Jordan.
71- Duna Al-Ghamdi
Duna Al-Ghamdi is a boxer and the receiver of the gold medal in the 2018 International Boxing Championship held in the Jordanian province of Balqa.
72- Amjad Al-Omari
Amjad Al-Omari is Saudi Arabia's first karting champion. Al-Omari won the first place in the first karting race for women in Saudi, in the 2018 Petromin Karting Championship for women in Jeddah.
73- Moznah Al-Nassar
Moznah Al-Nassar is a track athlete who won the first women’s marathon in Saudi Arabia. Al-Nassar also represented her country in many international competitions like the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, the 2018 Arab Women’s Games in Sharjah, UAE, and the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.
74- Mariam Al-Tameimi
Mariam Al-Tameimi is a 14-year-old who plays for the Eastern Flame women’s team. She has won the best player award in two consecutive rounds in the Khalid Bin Hamad 2018 Women's Futsal Championship in Bahrain.
75- Dalma Malhas
Dalma Malhas is the first Saudi woman to win an Olympic medal. She won the bronze medal in the singles jump at the 2010 Summer Youth Games in Singapore.
76- Rajaa al-Sanea
Does Girls of Riyadh – Banat Al Riyadh ring a bell? This book, published in 2005, has been translated to a whopping 40 languages, has been nominated for the International DUBLIN Literary Award in 2009, and sold 3 million copies around the world. Al Sanea is the Saudi writer behind this masterpiece written in the form of emails, and was listed among Arabian Business’ 100 Most Influential Personalities Under 40.
77- Munira Al-Hamdan
Munira Al-Hamdan is a football player who plays for the Eastern Flame women’s football team. Al-Hamdan has also played with the Bahraini team, Super Soccer, and has won the 2018 Sport Box championship and the third place in the 2016 Women's Futsal Championship in Bahrain.
78- Lamya Al Husail
Lamya Al Husail is a karting driver who won third place in the 2018 Petromin Karting Championship in Jeddah, the first women's karting competition to be held in Saudi Arabia. She is also the first Saudi architect specializing in the design of the circuitry and sports buildings.
79- Dima Fatani
Dima Fatani is a basketball player who contributed significantly to Jeddah United receiving the fair play award at the 2018 Arab Women's Games in Sharjah, UAE. She scored most of her team’s points in the basketball tournament.
80- Rasha Al-Harbi
Rasha Al-Harbi is the founder of the Place Runners team in Jeddah, where she has succeeded in spreading the culture of walking in Jeddah through organizing several races and awareness campaigns such as cleaning the streets of Jeddah and preserving the environment, to instil the idea that sports is a friend of nature.
81- Farah Al-Zahrani
Farah Al-Zahrani is a jujitsu sportswoman who represented her country at the 2018 Jujitsu Asian championship in Kazakhstan. She was ranked fourth in the White Belt category at the 2015 International Games for Professionals in Jujitsu in Abu Dhabi, UAE and currently has the Blue Belt.
82- Dana Al-Shahri
Dana Al-Shahri is a track athlete who represented KSA at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, the 2018 Arab Women’s Games in Sharjah, UAE, and the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku, Azerbaijan. At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Dana Shahri ran two races in less than five days, the 400 and 200-meter races.
83- Asmaa Al-Sharif
Asmaa Al-Sharif is the coach and captain of Titanium, a women’s basketball team that participated and won several local tournaments inside and outside Riyadh.
84- Sarah Attar
Sarah Attar is a runner that participated in the 2012 Olympic Games held in London. She also participated in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and was ranked 8th.
85- Wojdan Shaherkani
Wojdan Shaherkani is the first Saudi woman to compete in Judo at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
86- Reham Afandi
Reham Afandi is a certified Zumba instructor licensed to teach high-intensity workout classes and Zumba for young children. She is also a breast cancer survivor who uses her classes for motivational talks.
87- Wud Shaikh
Wud Shaikh is the first Saudi female trainer in Taekwondo. She received her black belts from Britain, Jeddah and Korea.
88- Nouf Marwai
Nouf Marwai is a certified Saudi yoga instructor. She is the head of the Arab Yoga Foundation and has trained more than 3,000 Saudi and expat yoga enthusiasts in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
89- Ameera al-Mudhi
A Saudi novelist with a medicinal background, Ameera al-Mudhi graduated from university with a nursing degree. At some point in her career, she paused and turned to writing, only to produce some of the best novels written by Saudi authors. She has several books published to her name,er the most popular one to date is A Dangerous Woman - Ontha Moufakhakha (2010).
