2011 News

After Kuwaiti science student, here comes a UAE mother

Yet another daring Arab female heads to icy Antarctica

Published: March 2, 2011
Al Arabiya News Channel

IAfter Kuwait’s Maryam al-Joann February voyage to the Antarctica, an Emirati woman plans to head to explore the earth’s most southern and iciest continent.

Dana al-Hammadi, aged 37, is a mother for five children, will be the first woman from her country to explore Antarctica alongside an explorer expedition, and with one of the world’s most famous environmentalist and the first person ever to have stepped a foot in the world’s North and South poles.

"I am a mother, and I worry about what we are doing to the planet that we will one day leave to our children," al-Hammadi who is an avid environmentalist told the UAE-based Gulf News.

"I want to touch, see and feel for myself how climate change is impacting the environment so that I can truly motivate others to protect it" - Dana al-Hammadi

"I want to touch, see and feel for myself how climate change is impacting the environment so that I can truly motivate others to protect it,” al-Hammadi added.

Reflecting the issue in her home country, al-Hammadi said in the UAE, there is a severe shortage of water and one of the largest carbon footprints in the world

“We need to take serious action to conserve our resources for future generations," she said, adding “I want to know and understand more so that I can inspire others to do the same.”

Kuwait's first female explorer

"We are in the middle of the storm now on the Drake Passage! 50 knots (=93 km/h) wind and 8-9 meter of waves" - Maryam al-Joaan

Tagging along an expedition 'Students on Ice’ bound for Antarctica in February 2011, Maryam al-Joaan will be the first female from Kuwait to ever walk in the icy southern continent in a science expedition.

Apart from being a member of Kuwait Science Club at the Department of Astronomy & Space Sciences, al-Joaan is pursuing a major in Earth and Space Sciences in a university in Bremen, Germany. She is also working as an intern at the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy in Brussels, Belgium.

“We are in the middle of the storm now on the Drake Passage! 50 knots (=93 km/h) wind and 8-9 meter of waves!” al-Joaan blogs her experience on February 27, adding “I am loving these big waves since morning. This morning we officially left the Antarctic Circle 60° latitude as we are heading North West to Ushuaia, Argentina. We expect to arrive Saturday morning.”

Choosing “Protect Earth, Go Blue!” as her motto for the expedition, al-Joaan told Arab Times that “Antarctica is a place of extremes where we can witness an isolated ecosystem and realize how fragile planet Earth is. We owe Earth the responsibility to protect it. Therefore, I believe strongly in protecting our environment.

“I want to inspire and motivate young Kuwaitis to change their behavior towards protecting the environment, especially the ocean.”

Morocco’s Merieme Chadid was the first Arab woman to reach the South Pole and is now Professor of Astronomy at the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis.

Original source taken from: Al Arabiya News Channel