Muslim Women In Business

“My name is Sümeyra Teymur. I graduated from Ankara University with a degree in Theology. I then did my masters at Marmara University and my PhD at İstanbul University. When I finished with school, I continued working in the digital publishing sector, where I was working at, part-time, as a student. I worked in different positions on Haberler.com. Now, I'm the CEO. I also started a textile brand called QRAS. We produce dresses for women who love social life and take an active role in it. We're selling in both domestic and international markets. Ever since I can remember, I’ve always had something to do, I keep myself busy. I love working and constantly improving myself. I’ve attended various seminars and conferences in different countries. The reason I tell you this, is because my entrepreneurship journey began while I was doing all these things. Learning, seeing, and improving myself. I’ve been working in the digital publishing sector for 12 years now. You have to know a...

“My name is Zeynep Tunç. I'm a mother of a 4 year old daughter and she really is a big part of my success. I’ve been making hair accessories for babies, children and grown-ups since 2017. I actually started in 2011 with my interest in ribbon embroidery. I made my first hair accessory that year. I made some pieces for my niece while I was still working in my sales and marketing job at that time. When I got pregnant, I decided to take a break from work and I made hair accessories for orpan children. After I had my daughter I started to make hair accessories for each outfit. I watched tutorials in a language I didn't know and learned it by trial and error. After a while, my accessories started to get attention, people were interested. In 2017 I opened my "Minminik Dükkan" Instagram page. All those photography classes finally came in use. The toughest part of this job was the fact that I didn't have a budget to start with. I was purchasing materials, turning th...

“We met at an art school entrance exam. Our paths crossed again and since we were both on the same wave length and had similar big ambitions, we got on really well. One day, while we were walking in Gülhane Park, we found ourselves planning our workshops after İclal said: "Why don't we start workshops together?" Both of us loved painting, so how amazing would it be if we could both share our passion with others? Normally, when taking steps into a road we're not familiar with, people tend to step back to protect themselves from the unknown. But we wanted to move on and we could already see this working. We didn't overthink and announced our first workshop. We got enough submissions for three workshops which was beyond our dreams. Our excitement fueled the motivation and energy to create the Artlesstudio. In the beginning, we hosted our workshops in cafes. We were looking for the next place all the time. After a while, it started to get harder to have them in ...

“My name is Efnan Ghoneam. I graduated from faculty of education and worked as a teacher for 4 years. I was a teacher but my mind was occupied elsewhere: I wanted to start my own jewelry company. I’ve always been into jewelry and since both my sister and my cousin work in the jewelry industry, my entrepreneurship journey began designing with them as a hobby and starting a page on social media (Yıldız Takı Tasarım) in 2013. When I first started, I was a full-time school teacher and working with jewelry on the side as a hobby. I wanted to start my business but quitting my job and making jewelry wasn't an option or a good decision according to the people around me. Having a university degree suddenly become something that was holding me back rather than pushing me to succeed. I couldn't focus on the things I wanted to do, due to social pressure. Things changed after I got married, I quit my job and had my baby. I put my all efforts into my business. I didn't have peop...

"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...