In a year filled with tragedies and setbacks across all levels, it is no exaggeration when we say that the Arab region found little respite. Yet, many Arab women stood tall against occupation, stereotypes, and insurmountable odds.
Raseef22’s list of inspirational Arab women this year features journalists, sports champions, social activists, struggling mothers, and innovators.
1) Imane Khelif
In 2024, young Algerian boxer Imane Khelif offered us an invaluable lesson on how a woman can fight, both in the ring and outside of it.

Khelif faced accusations questioning her femininity, with some labeling her a “trans man,” implying she had transitioned genders and possessed "excessive strength," which gave her an unfair advantage over her "normative and conventionally female" competitors. Imane became the target of rampant online abuse and misinformation. She faced intense public scrutiny over her eligibility to compete in the women's category despite Olympic officials repeatedly verifying that she has been cleared to compete after complying with all necessary eligibility and medical regulations.
In spite of all of this, Imane won the gold medal in boxing at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the 66kg weight category, thus becoming Algeria's first female gold medalist in boxing. She also filed a lawsuit against those who publicly questioned her gender identity and incited a major online hate campaign against her, determined to see her fight through to the end and to set a powerful example of what strong women can really do.
Fairuz, along with Egyptian activist Laila Soueif, Saudi feminist Manahel al-Otaibi, and Gazan journalist Nour Swirki, are among the Arab women who inspired us with their strength and resilience against oppression and occupation this year. These are the most valuable lessons we learned from them in 2024.
2) Fairuz

As the clock struck midnight on November 21, 2024, one of the most iconic singers of the Arab world turned 90 years old, and countless fans and admirers expressed their love and gratitude to her.
Nouhad Haddad—her birth name—was born in the popular Zuqaq al-Blat neighborhood of Beirut in 1934, grew to become the “Legend of the Arabs," the "Jasmine of the Levant," and the "Songbird of the East." Lebanon’s Fairuz also became known across the Arab world as “The Moon's Neighbor” from her popular song “Nehna Wel Amar Jiran (We And The Moon Are Neighbors).”
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