DUBAI: I grew up surrounded by ambitious, educated and accomplished women. My aunts were doctors, lawyers and successful in their respective fields, and at the same time they had families, raised amazing children and were very present mothers. My own mother pursued her PhD later in life, which I really admire, because it showed me that ambition and education don’t have an expiration date. I never felt that I had to choose between being ambitious, having a career and having a family, because I had watched the women around me do all of those things. They naturally pushed me to aim higher and shaped a lot of the woman I wanted to become.
What I love most is creating something new. When I realize something hasn’t been done before, it doesn’t scare me; it actually makes me feel like I have to do it. There’s something about that challenge and the bravery it requires that really excites me. I love taking an idea or concept that exists only in my mind and watching it become something real, especially when it can then help or empower other people and create a community around it.
There’s something about traveling and exploring that makes me feel like a child again, because you’re constantly learning and seeing things with almost newborn eyes. It reminds me that no matter how important or successful you may become in your own world, you’re still just a human being having this experience in a much bigger universe. I find that incredibly humbling and beautiful.
Moving between different countries and cultures taught me how differently people can see the same world, and how important it is to adapt and connect with people even when their perspectives are very different from mine. All of that has made me resilient, but it has also made me much more open-minded. The older I get and the more of the world I experience, the more I realize how much grey area there is in life — very few things are simply black-and-white.
I really admire women whose influence goes far beyond their success or their appearance. Huda Kattan is someone I admire not only as an incredibly successful woman, but also as a friend who has supported me, believed in me and stayed true to who she is. She has the courage to use her voice for what she believes is right, even when it would be easier not to. I also admire Angelina Jolie because, despite being known as one of the most beautiful women in the world, she has used her platform and influence to serve others. And I admire Malala for her courage and commitment to education and women.
Working in an industry where so much emphasis is placed on physical beauty has actually taught me that beauty alone is never enough. The women I admire most remind me that what you carry inside, and what you choose to do with the influence you’re given, is ultimately far more powerful.
I think the biggest misconception about me is that my life has been easy. Social media can make success look very smooth because people usually only see the result, not what it took to get there. The reality is that my journey has involved a lot of setbacks, sacrifices, difficult experiences and moments when I genuinely didn’t know how I was going to keep going. I’ve had to fight for many of the things people assume came easily to me, and I think that has made me much stronger than I would have been if they actually had.
I’m most proud of being a trailblazer and having the courage to keep choosing paths where there isn’t already a blueprint. I became the first Arab woman to win one of the Miss Earth elemental crowns, later became the first woman to represent Palestine at Miss Universe and reached the Top 30, and today I’m building an institution, a foundation, and my own beauty brand. Being first is exciting, but it’s also much harder because there is no roadmap and no guarantee that what you’re trying to do will work. I’m proud I had the resilience to keep going anyway.
Some of my worst decisions have come from trusting the wrong people, especially during moments when I was afraid of losing what I had worked so hard to build. There were times when that fear made me doubt myself, let the wrong people in, or give people far more chances than I should have. I naturally want to see the good in people, and I actually don’t want to lose that part of myself — I think life becomes very exhausting if you approach everyone expecting the worst. But I’ve learned that kindness and good judgment have to coexist. I can believe in the good in someone without ignoring what their actions are showing me.
Someone very close to me once told me that I already have everything I need inside of me — that I am enough. That advice taught me not to let the fear of what I don’t have push me into the wrong decisions. I’ve learned that I can trust myself, work with what I have and build from there. Sometimes what you think you need is actually already within you; you just have to believe it enough to move.
There is a difference between being protected and being limited. Sometimes people genuinely believe they are protecting you, but you still have to have the courage to decide what is right for your own life.
Being recognized for my intelligence will always mean more to me than being told I’m beautiful. There’s something very freeing about knowing that someone has looked beyond what they see first and has taken the time to understand the way I think.
Women are naturally very nurturing, and I’m proud of that part of myself. But I don’t believe nurturing others should require losing yourself. There’s a difference between selfishness and making sure you are whole. If I’m fulfilled, emotionally healthy, and living up to my own potential, I have so much more to give to my family and the people and communities around me.
Women need to feel that investing in themselves is not something to feel guilty about. Of course, there has to be balance, but sometimes choosing yourself is necessary, because when a woman is truly fulfilled, that strength extends far beyond her.
Loyalty is the most important thing in a relationship. And that goes much deeper than simply not betraying someone: it’s how you speak about them when they’re not in the room, whether you protect their vulnerabilities, whether you genuinely want to see them succeed, and whether they know you’re still on their side when things become difficult. When I truly trust someone, I can be vulnerable, ambitious, imperfect and completely myself without feeling that any part of me will later be used against me. That kind of safety is very important to me in both friendships and relationships.
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced working with men is learning to distinguish genuine support and protection from control. I’m very independent and ambitious, but I also believe there’s nothing wrong with a woman wanting to feel protected and supported by the men she trusts. The difficulty is that sometimes support can come with different intentions or expectations, and what begins as “I want to protect you” can gradually become an attempt to control you, limit your independence or make decisions for you.
Someone who genuinely supports a strong woman shouldn’t need to take away her power in order to feel powerful themselves. Real protection should make you feel safer and stronger - not smaller, controlled or more dependent.
Strength and softness can coexist. A woman can be nurturing, kind and vulnerable enough to ask for help or protection, while still being incredibly strong, independent and ambitious. Wanting a man’s support doesn’t mean wanting to be controlled. Men and women need each other, and that both have responsibilities to one another — in relationships, families and society. At our best, we should complement each other rather than compete with or diminish each other. There’s something very beautiful and powerful about a man and a woman who understand that they are a team and genuinely want to build each other up.