Officials and Qatari women achievers at the function held at the residence of French Ambassador to Qatar yesterday. Pic: Salim Matramkot / The Peninsula
The French embassy in Qatar yesterday marked the 2017 International Women’s Day by presenting a video titled 'Qatar Women Pushing Limits' which featured six extraordinary and inspirational Qatari women.
“Because I‘m a strong believer that films reach out to many, I wanted to celebrate the 2017 International Women’s Day with a video showing some remarkable Qatari women. There are so many in Qatar that we would need hours to praise them all,” French Ambassador to Qatar, Eric Chevallier, said during the occasion which took place at the ambassador's residence .
“These six women excel in very different domains, government institutions, sports, entrepreneurship and business, higher education, culinary art, entertainment … but what they have in common is their unwavering determination to achieve a goal," Chevallier added.
"The theme of this video is 'I do it' because women in Qatar, as in all countries, manage to play major role in our societies.Their strength, their dedication and their contribution to meaningful change deserve to praised, not only today, but every day," he said.
Aysha Al Mudahka, CEO of Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC), is one of the legendary women featured in the video. “We are proud about the place that Qatari women have reached. They defeated all challenges to reach all domains - in tourism, luxury industry, business and culture. The government offered them everything they may need to achieve their goals,” she said.
Other women who were featured in the video were Sheikha Asmaa Al Thani of the Qatar Olympic Committee, extreme sport and adventurer, Fatma Al Rumaihi, CEO of Doha Film Institute, who had long supported cinema development and creation in the Middle East and beyond, Nada Mohamed Wafa, the first woman to represent Qatar at the Summer Olympics in 2012, Mashal Al Rashid, the first Qatari to graduate from ENA Paris, one of the highest French Diplomas, and Aisha Al Tamimi, a Qatari chef. In addition, songwriter and composer Dana Al Fardan has contributed in making the video with the music from her album Sandstorm .
Challenges faced by Qatari women and women in general were mentioned in the video, including issues such as how women balance between the profession and home. The video also highlights that Qatari women are ambitious and they receive support from the government as well as their families,and so they are motivated to achieve more.
