JEDDAH: A number of Saudi women were honored at an awards ceremony here for their charitable and development work. The event was organized by the Femi9 Group of Companies on Saturday. It was held in the spirit of the words of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques: “My mother is a woman, my daughter is a woman, my wife is a woman and my sister is a woman”. Winners of fashion design scholarships were also announced. The design contest was launched on April 2 on Facebook, with 2,000 participants. Sameera Al-Ghamdi, the chairperson of the Family Protection Charitable Society and guest of honor, said the aim of the campaigns and events was also to protect women from domestic violence. She said she was really “proud” to have participated to help women. She praised King Abdullah for supporting women. Mohammed Qanna, the CEO of Femi9 and the main organizer of the campaign, said the main aim was to serve women in Saudi Arabia and worldwide. “We arranged the scholarship program for the girls to enhance their talent, so they can serve women not only at national level but international level also.” He said the scholarship training program will continue for a whole year, with the best five students selected to work for Femi9. Rajja Al-Momina, Director of the Future Institute, also praised Femi9 for their efforts and welcomed the participation of Saudi women. “Our theme is don't give up and you will succeed. I am very happy that a number of women participated in this scholarship contest through Facebook.” Sarah Meknas, a scholarship winner, said she was grateful to have won and looked forward to studying fashion design. The Saudi women whose work were recognized included: Mona Siraj, the editor of Sayidaty Magazine and a TV presenter; Maha Taher, social worker and activist; Serene Fetieh, freelance writer and photographer for a Jeddah magazine; Arwa Elkhereiji, school principal of the first certified Montessori School in Jeddah; and Mona Hariri, a broadcaster at Radio Jeddah. The other winners of the appreciation award in six categories were Lana I. Sultan for best social worker; Reem Mohammad Asaad, best woman teacher and lecturer; Dr. Arwa Al-Aama, best government employee; Alaa Al-Mizyen, best young woman entrepreneur; Mona Al-Hariri, best media personality; and Dr. Hanan Balkhy, the best woman doctor. The winners of the competition were Sultana Al-Otaibi, Sarah Meknas, Heba Al-Dawi, Haneen Salim, Ashwaq Al-Harthy, Eman Abdelnour, Shaimaa Hbal, Fawzia Al-Habasi, Lujain Khayyat, Wadha Saad, Shazia Shafi, Iman Koukandi, Rabtah Mouthana, Khaouloud Assiri, Isra'a Al-Mihmadi, Afnan Al-Mehy, Alanoud Al-Ghalib, Dalia Orfaly, Sidra Malik, Sidra Sabir, Amira Bahimd, Benan Khalil Farsi, Nouha Al- Sharif, Ahlam Alsharief, Mariam Baomar, Ghofran Farsi, Afnan Zamzami, Abeer Al-Ghamdi and Esraa' Farah.
