Legal Challenges Magazin.

It is a great honor to share this special issue with you, the incredibly gorgeous women. Since your achievements not only inspire me but also inspire many other people to work harder, to be better, and to bring about change wherever we can.

Therefore, I am very proud to release this special issue, in which I brought together inspiring women from my country, Kuwait, and several other countries as well.

We are here to talk about inspiring women in celebration of International Women›s Day.

In life, there is a moment at which you stop and ask yourself, why am I doing so?

Why am I organizing this issue of inspiring women? I recall an earlier period in my career life in 2013, when I moved to work in a law firm. I worked for 4 years without getting paid, and the reason was the passion that permeated me as a whole. I discovered myself in law. In 2017, when I set up my own law firm, it was not easy. I was shocked that female lawyers in Kuwait mostly work in the field of family and misdemeanor cases, and few of them work in the field of felonies. I discovered that the culture of the society is still the reason behind underestimating the competence of women of law in all sectors.

I grew up in a middle-class family with wonderful parents. I was the firstborn child, then, followed by my sister, and my brother was born a few years later. However, nothing has changed for me, as we all got equal opportunities.

In a historic step, eight Kuwaiti women have been approved to occupy the position of judge on July 2020. However, not everyone welcomed this step for several considerations, based on racial and gender discrimination between men and women. Here is the crux of the matter. Since our problem lies in the culture of society.

In 2018, I was very frustrated and sad, as I was working very hard and the result of my work and dedication was always my exclusion and marginalization without any justification or convincing reason. However, I don›t believe in failure and competition, because the only time you may fail is when you stop, and the only person you have to think about in competition is who you were yesterday. Therefore, I was keen to attend the Leading Women Lawyers Conference in Portugal. I wanted to know how those amazing women managed to succeed globally. The title of the conference (Leading Women Lawyers) caught my attention. It is a title denoting the strength of women. In Kuwait, most of our conferences on supporting women always have a title that is an indication of weakness and a request for sympathy (empowerment of women).

Here we find the difference in the result that we are supposed to see in Kuwait after the activities of women›s rights activists. In Kuwait, they think that the Kuwaiti government is the reason why women do not get equal opportunities in government positions, even though the Kuwaiti government did not fail to support Kuwaiti women. Many women have obtained government positions and made many achievements. Therefore, personally, I believe that the truth is that we suffer from a male-dominated society culture in Kuwait that needs to be changed, and this matter was not sought by the activists for women›s rights in Kuwait. Their focus was only on the government and the MPs in the National Assembly. It was better to pay attention to the Kuwaiti society and change its concept towards women.

Therefore, the situation in Kuwait has not changed much and it is moving slowly because they took the wrong direction. I discovered this issue at the conference of leading women lawyers, which was held in 2018. Among the speakers was the President of the National Council of French Lawyers, the French lawyer Christian, the President of the Bar Association in Paris, the French lawyer Marie, and the President of the Bar Association of England and Wales, the lawyer Christina. I really enjoyed their presentation and benefited from their successful experiences, advice and guidance to us. I learned from them the key to success, which is hard work, not paying attention to others, moving away from imitation and striving towards presenting everything that is distinctive and new.

Here, we miss this type of women leaders in Kuwait whose role is to advance women professionally and economically. At that time, I was very frustrated. I was shocked when they all confirmed that a female lawyer needs to work as many times as a man to prove her competence and presence. I was keen to give a speech while opening the discussion with them, as they asked the attendees to briefly present their experiences as women. I told them that if this is the situation for female lawyers in Europe, what would be the situation in our country in the Middle East? I do not forget the moment they invited me to sit with them in the cafe near the conference venue.

I was very happy when the most famous female lawyers in the world were discussing with me the situation of women in Kuwait. It was really a precious moment for me. I remember a sentence that the lawyer Mary said to me (May Allah help you, you have a long way to go), and I remembered Beth Reeves when he said, «Power is not the control at all - power is power, and giving that power to others.»

A leader is not someone who forces others to make them stronger; a leader is someone who is willing to give their strength to others so that they have the strength to stand on their own. Today, I would like to say that I was able to achieve a lot in a short period without getting support. On the contrary, some people were using their authority and connections to overthrow me.

Nevertheless, praise be to Allah, Allah, the Almighty, did not leave me alone, but was always with me, protecting me from their evils, their hatred, and the blackness of their heart. I focused on working with personal efforts, hard work, diligence, and self-reliance. I was chosen by the Commercial Lawyers Organization to attend the meeting of the UNCITRAL Committee at the United Nations in ,2019 2021 ,2020 and 2022, and to participate with them in the drafting of international laws. I was keen to have my legal opinion, and thanks to Allah, five recommendations were approved for me at the last meeting, and my presence was in my capacity as an observer of the actions of governments. By this, I am the first Gulf female lawyer to attend the UNCITRAL meetings as a representative of an international organization. Usually, the presence of Kuwaiti female lawyers in the UNCITRAL is a representation of the government of Kuwait from the General Department for Fatwa and Legislation.

Here, I became a reason to open the door for Kuwaiti female lawyers to attend these meetings on behalf of international organizations. The World Bank in the Washington Branch sought my legal experience in the Kuwaiti market after the Director of the Legal Department attended at my office in the State of Kuwait. He asked me to contribute to investment reports with them. He told me that they chose me after a careful follow-up of my professional activity by the talent search team at the World Bank - Washington Branch in the State of Kuwait. I already participated in three reports with them. I was chosen as a speaker at four international conferences, in addition to my classification accreditation by the IFLR-EUROMONEY magazine; a magazine specializing in classifying lawyers in the commercial field. I was internationally recognized as a prominent lawyer in Kuwait for the years 2020 and 2022, and my name was added to the list of the best commercial lawyers in the world.

I was also appointed as Vice-Chairman of the International Investments Committee at the Inter-Pacific Bar Association - IPBA - an international organization based in Japan that aims to provide professional support and development for lawyers, as well as to assist governments in developing legal solutions to issues and disputes raised in the international arena.

I was also assigned by the Association to organize a panel discussion and to choose the topic, the discussion points, and the speakers. Hence, I’m the first Gulf female lawyer to be assigned to do so by an international organization. These matters helped develop my skills and make me a professional and self-confident lawyer.

In addition, I was appointed as the regional representative of the China-European Arbitration Center. By this, I’m also the first Gulf female lawyer to obtain this prestigious position in the world of law and arbitration. This center is based in Hamburg within the headquarters of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Hamburg Branch. It specializes in resolving disputes to which China is a party, as well as trade disputes arising from the China Belt and Silk Road Initiative.

Furthermore, I also won the Inspirational Woman Award in Entrepreneurship in the category of achieving a balance in success between work and family. I was awarded a scholarship at the College of Entrepreneurship in Saint-Germain in Paris from the Small International Enterprises Organization based at George Washington University.

I established my own office in 2017 under the name of the Legal Challenges Group, to be the first Kuwaiti female lawyer to establish an office specialized in the commercial field, as this sector was limited to male lawyers. I was able to achieve remarkable professional achievements in the Kuwaiti courts. I was able to win 6 case law precedents as judgments issued for the first time in the history of judicial courts in Kuwait in a sector dominated by men. This is a very important professional achievement for me because a lawyer›s success is rated by the type of judgments he/she wins.

In 2019, I established my own journal titled Legal Challenges Journal. It is an international electronic journal specializing in the field of law and economy. It is published every three months in both Arabic and English.

In 2021, I established my own firm in China under the name “Shanghai Kuwait Firm for Business Administration, Economic and Legal Consultancy”, with a license issued by the Chinese Ministry of Investment.

No one helped me, as I started from scratch. I was doing my work by myself from A to Z. I was keen to be the first version of myself instead of being the second version of someone else.

In this context, I remember a quote by Dolly Bardon, who stated, “If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, work more, and be more, then you are an excellent leader.”

I mentioned all of these points to prove the claims of many in the Middle East that women should be empowered to have equal job opportunities. In my opinion, these are claims that underestimate the status of women. Arab women have already managed and succeeded to make many achievements at the international level.

Therefore, we do not need sympathy. We, as women in the Middle East, are able to achieve equality with our personal efforts through diligence, hard work, patience, and perseverance. If you do not have a developed growth strategy, then you and your team are concentrating on the same block. You may be good, but you are not going anywhere.

Therefore, I wanted to present this issue on International Womens Day to transfer these successful women›s experiences to our society in the Middle East, the Arabian Gulf and Kuwait, so that women in our society can benefit from these experiences, as they have achieved success through their personal efforts and hard work.

Let the ambitious woman learn how to break the glass ceiling without breaking herself. As a working mother of three children, I feel like my time is short. Women are more successful than ever. With that success comes the pressure to be the perfect wife, mother, and worker. This can leave you feeling exhausted, empty, and frustrated. «How can I pursue my dreams, achieve my ambitions, and grow my career while building a successful family?» It is easy to get off track when we are so, but we, as women, need guidance.

What if everything could be managed while preserving your safety and well-being?

You can!

This special issue will help you override the complexities of your life and prepare you to build a life you will love.

I did it, and I know you can do it too! When you take the time to set a plan, focus your energy in the right places. Do not pay heed to every voice that seeks to frustrate you or those who fight you and seek to overthrow you, exclude you, or replace you with another. Allah, the Almighty, is the One Who determines this, not humans.

You can achieve the life of success you've always wanted. It is time to change your life now. Are you ready for that?

Be ready to change your course of life, but do not surrender to frustration and strive for success.

Get over the fear of failure.

If you fear failure, you are creating an obstacle that can hold you back from achieving success. There is a relationship between fear of failure and laziness. Sometimes fear is an excuse for not working hard- which is known as laziness. Identify what's holding you back and be honest. Then keep doing it.

Do not work to earn, but rather work to learn.

Passion is a key element when it comes to being successful at work. Although making money is important, your mindset should always be focused on growth and development. You failed somewhere, but you learned the nature of the work within that industry and managed to move forward to achieve success.

If you want to continue to develop professionally, get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Whether you are looking for untapped areas of opportunity or taking on a new role at work, this is essential to real success.

Personally, I have had a turbulent career, but I've learned that it doesn't matter how many times you fall. It is only important that you are ready to return. As the only thing that distinguishes success from failure is the ability to dust off and keep moving forward.

When people suffer from personal tragedies or lose their jobs or businesses, they often feel defeated and want to give up on their dreams. But this is the wrong approach that should not be taken. Don't give up, don't despair. Just get ready and start rebuilding your life as fast as you can.

Therefore, my advice to every ambitious woman is not to seek someone else's ambition and not to follow him/her where the path may lead you. Rather, go where there is no path and leave your marks.

Now, I leave you to enjoy this special issue with inspiring women from different countries of the world.