MENA-Based Women From Forbes' 50 Over 50

These seven MENA-based female powerhouses appeared on Forbes' third annual 50 Over 50: EMEA list for 2024, proving that life's second half is also its most successful and rewarding.

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• Halla bint Khalid, 52

Occupation: Author-Illustrator

Residence: Saudi Arabia

Khalid taught herself how to draw and built a career on her illustrations. She had her first solo exhibition in 1991 and established a publishing house in 1997. Since then, she has released 18 children’s books in both Arabic and English. In 2020, she became the co-owner of Gharem Studios, a non-profit organization that encourages artists to explore their culture and heritage. Khalid’s illustrations draw on her Saudi heritage.

• Rajaâ Cherkaoui El Moursli, 52

Occupation: Nuclear Physicist

Residence: Morocco

El Moursli is a Moroccan professor of nuclear physics. Her research has helped prove the existence of the Higgs Boson— the particle responsible for the creation of mass—and, in 2015, won her the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award. While her almost 30-year-long career in science has been filled with achievements, it’s a career that would not have existed had she not convinced her father to let her seek out a graduate degree in France in the early 1980s.

• Caroline Fattal Fakhoury, 52

Occupation: Chair of Fattal Holding; Founder of Stand for Women