Merieme chadid biography sample
Next week, Rob and I head off to Morocco for a spring break ahead of the Easter crowds. One of the main advantages of working more flexibly is being able to take term-time holidays! Having taken geography students there many times over the years to enjoy the mountains and cities with such a different feel from our own, I love Morocco, a country rich in history and culture.
As this is Women’s History Month, before I went I decided to do a little research, and came across some phenomenal Moroccan women who were or are ahead of their time, inspiring generations and accelerating the progress of women. I found that Morocco has been home to many remarkable womenwho have broken barriers, challenged norms, and propelled the advancement of women's rights and inclusion.
From activists to artists, politicians to pioneers, these women have left an indelible mark on Moroccan society and beyond and I hadn’t heard of many of them before. For example, Fatima al-Fihri (800-880 AD).
She founded the University of Al Quaraouiyine in Fez, Morocco, in 859 AD, which is recognised by UNESCO and Guinness World Recordsas the oldest continuously operating degree-granting university in the world.
What a fantastic legacy of shaping academia and knowledge dissemination from such early times.
While she isn’t a historical figure, one other woman’s story I found fascinating is that of Merieme Chadid, who was born in Casablanca on October 11, 1969, so about 18 months younger than me. Apparently, she developed an interest in astronomy in early teenage years after her brother gifted her a book about Johannes Kepler, a 17th century German astronomer and mathematician and this led her to pursue studies in physics. In 1992, she earned her master’s degree in Physics from University of Hassan II in Casablanca.
Four years later she obtained her Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the Paul Sabatier
These eight Moroccan women overcame obstacles in their respective times and paved the way for future generations of strong independent women.
The UN International Women’s Day is celebrated globally on March 8 every year. This important day is dedicated to celebrating women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements throughout history. The event also aims to call for greater gender equality.
While significant progress has been made in the last 100 years, much is still left to do as no country in the world has yet achieved full gender equality, according to the United Nations. Moreover, the World Economic Forum estimates that it will take another 100 years to erase the global gender gap.
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights”. The Generation Equality campaign is aimed at mobilizing global action to achieve gender equality and to bring together people of every gender, ethnicity, race, age, religion, and nationality.
In celebration of International Women’s Day it is time to take a look at the achievements of some of the most prolific Moroccan women throughout history.
Fatima al-Fihri, founder of the world’s first university
Fatima al-Fihri was born in A.D 800 in modern-day Tunisia, but moved to Fez with her family at a young age. Not much is known about her mother, but her father, Mohammad bin Abdullah al-Fihri, would become a successful merchant in the city.
The Al-Fihri family were well-off. Fatima’s father made sure that she and her sister, Maryam, received a good education, something that was not common for women at the time. The two sisters inherited the fortune their father had earned following a series of unfortunate events. Fatima’s brother, father and husband all died in rapid succession.
Al-Fihri was a devoted Muslim, and decided to give back to her local community with the sudden wealth she had rec The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a community of innovators from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Search current members and alumni by year awarded, sector or region. Fellow of Practice, Strategic Projects, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, United Kingdom Rafat is a thought leader and practitioner passionate about addressing political and economic challenges in situations of fragility and conflict. He has over 15 years of experience in the public and private sectors in Yemen and internationally, including in senior government positions. Since 2016, Rafat has been a fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford where he has led the school’s multiple initiatives in the field of state fragility including the LSE-Oxford Commission on State Fragility, the Council on State Fragility, and the DFI Fragility Forum. He has previously served as Minister of Youth and Sports in the Government of Yemen, and prior to that was leading the Policy Reforms team at the Executive Bureau for Acceleration of Aid Absorption and Support for Policy Reforms. Rafat has successfully led multiple large-scale social and economic research studies in Yemen, and is an advisor to Yemeni and international stakeholders on political, peace building, and economic issues in Yemen. He previously held senior positions with PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM in Canada. Rafat earned his second Master degree in Public Policy (MPP) at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, UK. His first Master degree was in Business Administration (MBA) from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC) Montréal, Canada. Explorer and Astronomer, Antarctica Research Station, France Pr. Merieme Chadid: Explorer and Astronomer Moroccan astronomer and researcher Merieme Chadid (Arabic: مريم شديد; born 11 October 1969 in Casablanca) is a Moroccan-Frenchastronomer, explorer and astrophysicist. She leads international polar scientific programs and has been committed to installing a major astronomical observatory at the heart of Antarctica. Chadid was born October 11, 1969, in Casablanca to a Moroccan family. Her father and mother were a blacksmith and a housewife respectively. She was one of seven children. At 12 years old, she discovered her love of astronomy from a Johannes Kepler book gifted to her by her brother. In 1992, Chadid graduated from the University of Hassan II Casablanca with a master's degree in Physics and Mathematics. In 1993, she graduated from the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis with a Master of Advanced Studies and three years later earned her PhD in Astronomy and Space from the Paul Sabatier University from her research detecting hypersonic shock waves in pulsating stars and explaining their origin. She also obtained the highest university qualification degree Habilitation HDR, a second PhD, at the University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis. Chadid completed several executive education programs at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University as well. Merieme Chadid joined the Centre national de la recherche scientifique and then the European Southern Observatory soon after earning her PhD. She worked on European Southern Observatory for the installation of The Very Large Telescope, the largest telescope in the world at the time, in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. She works as an astronomer in the French public university system. Chadid has been Vice President of the International Astronomical Union since 2021, Division G, Stars and Stellar Physics, and a steering co
Rafat Al-Akhali
Merieme Chadid
Pr. Merieme Chadid is an intrepid explorer, renowned astronomer, and pioneering astrophysicist, celebrated for her groundbreaking contributions to science. She holds the dist Merieme Chadid
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