Muslim Women In Business

"My name is Salsabil El-Awaisi, I'm an interior designer and the founder of Salsabil El-Awaisi Interiors. I'm also a wife and a mummy to my little boy Adam. I was born in a town called Hebron not far from Jerusalem but I grew up in Scotland. I grew up with two different identities which I struggled with growing up, but I have learned to accept them both and I believe this is what makes me unique and different today, both in my personal and professional life. Since a young age, I always knew that I wanted to have my own business and be my own boss. But I understood that I needed work experience in order for me to be successful. After graduation, I took on a few roles in my design field to gain that experience. However, I had my little boy Adam and went on maternity leave thinking I would return back to work after he's one. Little did I know that my maternal instincts would be strong and I couldn't even think of leaving Adam in a nursery or with a childminder...

"I'm originally from a small city called Manisa in western Turkey. We had no Internet growing up and I was nine years old when I first watched TV. We had alot of time to think. From a young age I had already decided what I wanted to do with my future. I wanted to become an academician. You might find that strange but it was my dream. Hijab in Turkey was banned in schools and universities in the 90s & 2000s. I was home tutored during the high school period. When the time for university enrollment came along I was faced with a difficult decision. I rang countless universities, asking if they'd allow me to wear my hijab. No Universities agreed. None. It was an overwhelming and exhausting process. Sometimes in life you have to compromise, but I was adamant on wearing my hijab. "To my relief, Bahçeşehir University allowed the girls to wear hats, or some kind of head covering and so 4 years later I graduated with a Business Administration-Economics degree. Hijab was...