Criteria:

This is a table from a pool of young ladies, gentlemen, who are very early in their career, mostly doing their post graduate studies or early business ventures, we are looking at their direction of their progress, potential for growth and their trajectory of the course. For example, if someone is in the right field, is in the right universities, working hard, committed, disciplined, successful, altruistic and serving others in a cooperative and collaborative way, then they are worth noting and looking up to.

We are not looking into well established successful business woman like Margaret Thatcher, they are the ultimate. Our role models are in the younger generation who are in the pool of na9eeb.com

This is to encourage our generation to be committed to education, learning, hard work and discipline to succeed in life.

Lama Abdulrahman Younis, a 27 year old Saudi lady, currently residing in London, is the first female Criminologist and Forensic Psychologist in Saudi Arabia. As we all know, this is not a usual path for a Saudi women to pursue, yet lama followed her dream and allowed nothing to stand in her way till she achieved it.

In 2005, Lama graduated from Effat University in Jeddah with a degree in Psychology and went off to complete her Masters in London. She double majored in Criminology and Forensic Psychology from Middlesex University London. Her first goal accomplished was not only graduating with distinction but having a deep and rich dissertation for her Masters Degree. The talented and determined young lady titled it: A time to change; a structural and cultural comparative analysis of the deficiencies evident in contemporary Saudi Arabia of dealing with child abuse and its consequences. It contains extremely valuable research, content and most importantly her point of view regarding Saudi Arabia’s stand point on what should be focused on concerning this matter.

Later on, like a free bird, lama spread her wings and went to Dubai to join the Human Relations Institute Dubai which offered psychology and human resource professional services in the Middle East & North Africa, for individuals and organisations. HRI services include Clinical, Forensic, Organisational, Educational, Domestic Psychology, and liaise with medical, EAP, and other related programs world-wide. Lama then travelled and consulted around the Middle East as she currently still does so. “I believe spreading the word and fighting for Children’s Rights is what I was born to do”, she stated.

In 2008, Lama joined Harvard University to attend a post graduate course titled Delinquents, Criminals, Psychopaths, and Terrorists, to grasp a better understanding of the relationship between Psychology and Law. Once completed, Lama went back to her home town Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to join Effat University and lecture in the Psychology Department. Parallel to that, she was consulting in the Middle East and hosting workshops as an expert in the field. The workshops covered topics such as Introduction to Child Abuse, Types of Abuse, Signs of Abuse, Prevention, Protection and Advice. The workshops mainly targeted educators and mothers, she mentioned, “I believe the workshops were a great start for people to accept and speak about this matter in general”.  Since the turnover of the workshops were highly  successful, Lama plans to host more in the future, especially in the Middle East.

Lama is approximately a year away from completing her PhD in International Childhood Studies from Birkbeck University of London. She is currently enriching her knowledge and studying comparative law in children’s rights, she said, “ I believes this education will help implement related policies back home” and “I would like to help improve the community through services that would benefit its people for the long term rather than the short term focus”.

Lama is an exceptional and motivated young lady, in addition to her academic career, she joined various teaching courses throughout her PhD to help improve her teaching style and skills, for future projects she plans to organise. She recently joined a program in Columbia University, Teachers College, to attend the course “Developing Critical Thinkers”.

Her previous accomplishments may be considered remarkable to us, but to lama, they are only challenging steps she took along the way to reach her future goals. She aims to help prepare the next generation to become strong and confident to lead a great nation, she said, “They will be sure to lead this country with success and glory”. Her words and passion reminded of Nelson Mandela when he said, “Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.” Lama is truly focused in her journey and God has blessed her with good fortune that leads to success. She mentioned, “I am thankful to Allah and my family who have always supported me with all their love.”

She concluded by saying, “I would like to listen to what you have to say or share about this issue. Please feel free to join the group I have created a while back “Stop child abuse in Saudi Arabia”. The primary purpose of this group is to increase awareness amongst the Saudi society of child abuse and make recommendations for change in order to give all children the ability to reach their full potential without the fear of abuse. This group is not just to bring awareness of the importance of the field but also to highlight the lack of research in this area. This group discusses the contemporary trends in dealing with child abuse, as well as the importance of further development in this field in Saudi Arabia. It seeks to deal with these trends by bringing about change in Saudi Arabia and will therefore incorporate a prescriptive element.  I try to post recent studies worldwide and updates about the various movements regarding this issue. Please join only if you are interested. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at anytime regarding any matter as I have been consulting victims, offenders and witnesses for a good period of time. I question myself daily; will child abuse in Saudi Arabia ever change? Please help make that change…”

May God bless her heart for pursuing such a noble cause, for dedicating herself to education and for reaching out to others. She is truly an inspiration to us all and I hope we can help her reach her long term aspirations of building a strong nation. People like Lama are rare in our society therefore we should praise, encourage and look up to her, none the less support her high moral principle cause.

God bless you Lama Abdulrahman Younis.

By: Maha Taher

This is my sister Lama Taher and she plays a vital role in my life. She is studying Genetics in london and currently working on her Phd. Like everyone else, she hit a few bumps down the road, but unlike the majority of people, she diverted her energy and attention on something positive instead of dwelling on the current misfortune.

She is simple, stylish and elegant, so she decided to design a few cotton t-shirt for herself. A few ladies loved them so she started selling them, and now chic cotton t-shirts became her new addiction. She is focused, determined and building herself. Like any start up, she started small and is slowly expanding but she has a lot of potential to grow.
(Arab News Article on Lum)

Her story became a subject of conversation in gatherings, which always lead to another subject “Working, independent woman”. As Mrs. Hitch, I linked it to another question of course, “Do men like independent woman or do they prefer a woman who depends on them?”

Rest assured, men have dreams of finding that special girl to spend the rest of their lives with. But in his dreams, his partner is someone he can count on. The majority of men like a strong woman who is in total control of herself, yet they still like the feeling of being needed, which means you have to find the right balance. Men dont want to marry a kid and babysit her but rather a woman who can take care of herself and the kids while he’s gone. Men don’t talk about this need for security because it’s not considered manly. But they want the feeling of security also.

Men, more than ever, are warming up to the idea that a woman who can contribute financially can be an important asset. They think if she works then she has depth and will keep herself busy. They want easy jobs for their wives so they won’t come back home drained after a long day at work and neglect them. Men want attention, care and affection, so a woman who can juggle between work and home is very lucky.

I once read, “Men tend to approach love as though it’s a business deal negotiation. They ask what is she bringing to the table other than sex?”

As will smith said (yes as corny as this seems, i will quote will smith), “Competence is the thing that is most attractive.” Men want a woman who can take care of business and help him out, not be a burden, it fulfills their need of feeling protected and safe which is mutual need between couples. Respect is another component that arises when a woman is independent. If she works, he does not care how much money she makes, but the fact that she is productive or willing to help out makes him consider her as an asset and not a liability.

So ladies, be strong, be competent but most importantly be yourselves.

And I hope you all have an inpiring sister like mine who always pushes me to be a better woman, wife, daughter and friend.

God bless you lama.