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Muslim Women Leaders Forbes Top Muslim Woman of Power 2007
Dr. Naher Taher By Family Editorial Daughters, sisters,
wives, mothers, carers activists, community, industrial and national leaders -
All of these roles are the roles that Muslim women continue to play as an
intrinsic part of the societies in which they live. Who is recognized more, is
determined by the beneficiaries, and not always measured by the global market
place where women in general are up against increasing violence in one form or
another. Forbes, the top U.S
business magazine for the elite covers U.S. Europe and Asia. For better or for
worse, Forbes recognized Muslim women in 2007, in terms of power, under the
heading "Muslim Women in Charge". A curious heading, which
presupposes like the UNDP Arab Human Development report that all Muslim women
are unfortunate creatures due to their religion, and that only non-Muslim women
are in charge and therefore not so unfortunate. , which does not answer the
question as to why more and more non-Muslim women are converting to Islam, does
it now! Anyway, let us not side track, and take a look at the top Muslim woman
under the category of Muslim Women in Charge. Dr Nader Taher
ranked #72 of the 100 Most Powerful Women recognized by Forbes. A woman of
power with a difference, she was referred to as the "revolutionary
investment banker" by the U.K.'s top financial newspaper, the Financial
Times. Family
& Career Dr. Nader factors
in her upbringing in regards to her success. With no gender biases, she spent
her childhood in Kuwait and Texas, U.S. After completing
her secondary education, Dr, Nader married to Refat Bady, a businessman. By the
time she completed her higher education with four university degrees, she had
had three children, Dr. Taher, an Arab
woman, studied economics at the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia. She then went to Lancaster University, U.K. to take an MSc and PhD in
Economics, whilst raising her children and taking care of her home. Dr. Nader
was offered a position with the International Monetary Fund, but she wanted
"to do something for my own country". In her thesis at Lancaster
University she considered the oil revenues as a problem, with little savings
and investment, and a lot of consumption.
The
World of Work When she returned
to her home country, Saudi Arabia, she was the only woman out of 4000 men to be
hired by one of Saudi Arabia's oldest institutions, the National Commercial
Bank. As the first female, she worked as a Senior Economist, who in her three
years with the National Commercial Bank, employed 50 more women who were
employed in various departments. Dr. Nader respects
her intellect, and has had a burning desire to contribute to the development of
her country. In an interview with Al-Hayat she stated: "At first, the
society did not accept the nature of my work, and there were some reservations.
However, I found total support and confidence in my husband and family. They
were concerned about society not accepting my work, although they had full
trust in me and my capability. "Ever since
the beginning, my husband strongly supported and encouraged me. He told me:
'You are one those who can produce change and you must do it'. He used to focus
on the importance of what I can offer the society, and the nation not only as a
woman, but also as a citizen specialized in monetary economics, which is a rare
specialization and the kingdom needs experts in this field. This encouragement
supported my desire to prove my capacities as an economist and also my desire
to prove that the Muslim Saudi woman is able to work in this field while
sticking to her Muslim and Arab identity and traditions. The truth is, is that
I found all respect from my men colleagues. The respect of the officials in the
National Bank greatly increased my self confidence, and I was assigned to carry
out many big missions. Last January [2005], I participated in the Economics
Forum in Jeddah where I submitted a paper about the labor market and defects in
the economic structure and in the labor market, and how to solve this problem
in the Kingdom in general and in Jeddah in particular. "The truth is,
is that I feel that time changed. Before poverty required the families to
prefer boys to girls in education, health and even food for they were
considered the essential source of revenue. But today, the situation has
changed. I feel that we women have made a good deal of progress. True, we are
still at the beginning, but there is a very significant change in the attitudes
towards women participation in developing their country and citizens. In 2006, Dr. Nader formed
the Gulf One Investment Bank with backing from industrialists in Saudi Arabia
and the Far East. Signing deals worth $500mn in water, airports,
petrochemicals, mining and technology, with projects in the Middle East, China,
India and Europe. Sources: MacDonald, Elizabeth & BahreeMegha.The World's Most Powerful
Women: Muslim Women In Charge ForbesLast
Accessed 12-27-07 Allamuddine, Baria
& Nahed Muhammad Taher: The Only Saudi Woman Holding a PhD in Monetary
Economics.Al HayatLast
Accessed 12-27-07 Alumni
Nahed TaherLUMS Last
Accessed 12-27-07 Ker, Simeon. The Revolutionary Banker. Financial Times.
Last Accessed 12-27-07 http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1196786592095&pagename=Zone-English-Family%2FFYELayout |
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