Stuff We Love
Mehr Shafiei

10 Lebanese Women On The Arabian Top 500 List

This year the Arabian Top 500 had many Lebanese women on its list of top Arab female leaders. Here are ten fabulous women. How many have you heard of?

1. Amal Clooney


Everyone knows Amal—supercool human rights lawyer, great style, married to Hollywood hunk George Clooney. It’s a non-brainer she’s on the list.

2. Iqbal Al Asaad


Lebanese-Palestinian, Al Asaad is a child prodigy who became a doctor at age 20. As a child, she would visit the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon with the dream of helping them one day. Ironically, the law in Lebanon prevents her from working in Lebanon—the country of her birth.

3. Leila El Solh


Vice-president of the Al-Walid Bin Talal Foundation, El Solh was also the first Lebanese woman minister. She is known for her philanthropy and social activism.

4. Grace Najjar


One of the best in management consulting, Najjar has steadily climbed to the top of her field.

5. Joumana Haddad


Known for being outspoken about sex and the social constructs of Lebanon, poet, author, translator, and women’s rights activist Joumana Haddad is also on the list.

6. Nadine Labaki


A national treasure, filmmaker Nadine Labaki also made it on the list. She’s been an ambassador for Lebanon and has swept the award ceremonies of many film festivals.

7. Nancy Ajram


If you could distill charm into a single human being you would probably get Nancy Ajram incarnate. Of course she is on the list.

8. Fayruz


Fayruz, the reining queen of the Arab musical scene, is another familiar name on the list.

9. Reine Abbas


Taking the tech industry by storm, Abbas is a prominent gamer and advocate for equality.

10. Hind Hobeika


Another technology star on the list, Hobeika founded the start-up Instabeat, a ground breaking swimming monitor mounted on your goggles that tracks, stores, and displays instant feedback of your heart rate to reach your training goals..