Arab Women Who Made History In 2024

Progress continues, with many remarkable Arab women shattering barriers in their fields in 2024. Here are six who achieved historic firsts last year.

- ASHRAQAT OSAMA

Asma AI Thani

Nationality: Qatari

Sector: Sports

Qatari mountaineer AI Thani set a new record by becoming the first Arab woman to complete the Explorer's Grand Slam in October 2024, which is a challenge to reach both the North and South Poles as well as climb seven famed summits-Asia's Mount Everest, Argentina's Aconcagua, Alaska's Denali, Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, Antarctica's Vinson Massif, Russia's Elbrus, and the Cartensz Pyramid in Indonesia. Fewer than 75 people in history have ever completed this Grand Slam. AI Thani first summited Kilimanjaro in 2014 with a group of Qatari women. In 2018, she became the first Qatari to ski the last degree to the North Pole as part of an international team of women from across Europe and the Middle East. In 2019, she was the first Qatari woman to summit Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America, and in 2022, she was the first to climb Mount Everest.

Maysaa Sabreen

Nationality: Syrian

Sector: Economics