Four decades ago, long before the phrase ‘women’s empowerment’ was coined, Shaikha Mariam Al Khalifa of Bahrain dedicated her life to helping and empowering women and girls in The Kingdom, the wider GCC, and in fact wherever in the world she could find an opportunity to do so.
Shka. Mariam Bint Hamad Al Khalifa
Position in BEO
Founder and Vice ChairwomanEmail:
mariam.h.alkhalifa@beobahrain.comPersonal Information :
Four decades ago, long before the phrase ‘women’s empowerment’ was coined, Shaikha Mariam Al Khalifa of Bahrain dedicated her life to helping and empowering women and girls in The Kingdom, the wider GCC, and in fact wherever in the world she could find an opportunity to do so.
As one of the first women entrepreneurs in Bahrain, she understood first-hand the value of owning and operating a business for a woman. This led her to joining and actively participating in the Mother & Child Welfare Society where she launched and headed Bahrain’s first Micro Financing project in cooperation with the UNDP in 1999. She has continued in this role since then and it has been extremely successful. What started out as a small operation, granting loans as small as BD100, has flourished to the extent that it now has an allocated capital of BD 4 Million. The program is considered stronger than those offered by some banks.
Having been an active businesswoman, Shaikha Mariam founded and continues to be the active Vice President of the Bahrain Businesswomen’s Society. On their behalf she has attended many international conferences. The society has helped build and strengthen relationships between Bahraini businesswomen and facilitated collaborations around the country.
Shaikha Mariam’s commitment to raising a voice for women on the world stage has led her to represent the Kingdom of Bahrain at almost all the United Nations Conferences for Women. Over the course of the last forty years she has been both a participant and speaker at UN conferences in particular those in Lebanon in 1975, Copenhagen 1985, and Beijing in 1995.
Memberships & Associations:
- Proprietor, Jeunesse Parisienne A multi-brand designer clothing boutique catering to children and teenagers
- Head of Micro Finance Project, Mother & Child Welfare Society
- Vice President, Bahrain Business Women’s Society (BBS)
- Treasurer, Arab Businesswomen’s Council Bridging the gap between businesswomen in the Arab world to foster collaborations
- Founder, Bahrain Business & Professional Women’s International Federation Established to empower women and youth, particularly those in low income brackets, through training and education and help them to build their businesses
Participant & Speaker:
UN Conference for Women:
- Lebanon in 1975
- Copenhagen in 1985
- Beijing in 1995
- New York