The ninth Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival (SEF 2026) provided spectators with a unique, unfiltered glimpse into the inner lives of three Arab women who have redefined what endurance, leadership, and courage mean beyond the summit.
During the session “Discussion with firsts: Pioneering in sports and athletics,” Manal Rostom, the first Egyptian woman to summit Mount Everest and complete the Six World Marathon Majors, Fatima Abdulrahman Al Awadhi, 18, the youngest Emirati and first Arab teenager to scale Antarctica’s highest peak, and Fatima Alloghani, an Emirati adventure bike rider who has travelled more than 7,000 kilometres across 17 countries, shared deeply personal reflections on fear.
In response to a question on vulnerability, Rostom recounted an experience she chose to share publicly while climbing Everest. “I posted a video of myself crying,” she explained. “Saying, ‘This is hard. I do not think I can do it. The love I got reminded me that vulnerability is the new strength. My most important takeaway from the death zone was to kill my ego. While her climbs have garnered headlines, Rostom has spoken freely about the responsibilities that comes with visibility.
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