5 Of The Most Powerful Women In The Middle East

This isn’t the full list, but we picked 5 powerful women from the Middle East, you SHOULD know about. The MENA region is abuzz with some of the most powerful and influential from all over the world – especially those who hail from the region. The region is an international hub for everything from technology and business, to art and innovation. In a list published by Gulf Business, abouther.com discovered some pioneering and powerful Arab women you should know about.

By Amrita Singh

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Sarah Al Suhaimi

Sarah Al-Suhaimi is the first Saudi woman to chair the Saudi Arabian stock exchange, the largest stock market in the Middle East. She is leading comprehensive efforts to further connect the Saudi capital markets with the global system, in line with Vision 2030.

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Huda Kattan

Huda Kattan is an American makeup artist, beauty blogger, and entrepreneur. She is the founder of the cosmetics line Huda Beauty. The beauty mogul has an enormous social media presence, having 48 million followers on Instagram alone. She ranked 47th in the Forbes 2020 list of America's richest self-made women, with a net worth of $510m.

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Lana Zaki Nusseibeh

Lana Zaki Nusseibeh is the UAE Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations UAE. She was appointed this position by President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan in September 2013 and became the first woman in the position. Nusseibeh was also formerly President of the UN Women Executive Board in 2017 and is also co-chair of the Friends of the Future of the UN.

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Nora Al Matrooshi

Nora Al Matrooshi is an Emirati engineer and astronaut. Selected in April 2021, she trained with the NASA Astronaut Group 23 of astronauts to work as an international mission specialist. She is a mechanical engineer by training, with a BA from the United Arab Emirates University.

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Dr. Amina Al Rustamani

Dr. Amina Al Rustamani is an Emirati businesswoman who's currently the director of family business AW Rostamani Group. She ranked number 9 in the CEO Middle East's fifth annual list of the world's most powerful Arab women in 2015. She was picked as the Advertising Person of the Year by Dubai Lynx for 2015, and remains one of the Middle East’s most powerful and influential women.