At Pink Jinn, we love to celebrate women each and every day, but we’ve lined up something extra special this month! We’ve joined up with the amazing team at Under the Abaya, a non-profit and creative platform based in Saudi Arabia, to raise funds for women’s initiatives across the Kingdom. Together with Twisted Comics, we’re creating a comic book to shout about the incredible achievements of three trailblazing Saudi women who dreamed big and are forging new paths for their sisters all across the world, and reaching dizzying new heights (and depths)!
This week, take a trip to the stars with us and Mishaal Ashemimry, a pioneering force in the aerospace industry. Not only the first ever female aerospace engineer in the Gulf, she was also the first Saudi woman to join NASA! Never one to rest on her laurels, Mishaal followed these achievements by founding her own rocket company at the age of just 26. Alongside her work as a literal rocket scientist, she’s channeling her expertise and passion for space and STEM into her YouTube and social media presence, to teach others about the wonders of science and to encourage them to dream big and maybe even follow in her footsteps into the aerospace industry.
During her childhood years in Saudi Arabia, Mishaal Ashemimry had already shown an early gift for science and maths, but it was a trip into Saudi Arabia’s Unaizah Desert when she was six years old that first set her on a path to the stars. The dark skies of Saudi Arabia’s vast and sparsely populated desert regions allow for wonderful views of the cosmos, and gazing upwards at the stars, young Mishaal was captivated. The trip proved to be a life-changing experience, sparking a deep love of space and beginning a journey that would lead her to boldly go where no woman had gone before – to become the first ever woman to work in rocket science in the Gulf. The sheer scale of the universe, and the endless mysteries of space quickly became her greatest passion, driving her through a gruelling academic career to become an aerospace engineer specialising in rockets, including nuclear thermal rockets – the kind we’d need to build to put humans on Mars!
Along the way, she qualified as a commercial pilot and trained in zero-gravity space-flight conditions, but it wasn’t all a smooth ride. Before long, Mishaal’s childhood fascination with the wonders of space would have to carry her through a whole barrage of obstacles. Both her youth and her gender frequently led those around her to underestimate her capabilities, while misapprehensions about her field and about women’s aptitude in STEM subjects often left her having to fight just to do her job.
“Don’t be afraid to fail because failure is the seed from which success grows”
She frequently came up against disrespectful or dismissive peers and colleagues, had to push back against societal expectations of how girls and women should live their lives, and was forced to field comments from teachers, peers, and strangers who had no conception of the work she was doing. With all this to contend with, the complex coding and mind-bending equations Mishaal had to grapple with in her studies and career often proved far simpler than the external pressures she was facing from others. She even recounts having to patiently explain the difference between aerospace engineering and astrology in response to comments about her career conflating rocket science with star signs.
“You will find yourself, as a woman, having to work three times as hard to get recognized for the same thing a man does.“
But through long years of study, endless scepticism, and long periods far from family and friends, Mishaal’s fascination with space and all that we have yet to discover about the universe held strong, and she was officially recognized as the first female aerospace engineer in the GCC. She credits her success to a deep and persistent desire, an innate drive to excel and a whole lot of unwavering support from her family.
Over the years she has also drawn strength and pride from her Saudi Arabian heritage. Following in the proud tradition of science, mathematics and astronomy in the Middle East, Ashemimry walks in the footsteps of scholars like the famous mathematician and astronomer Al-Khwarizmi and Saudi astronomer and poet Al-Khalawi, who studied the stars above Najd three hundred years before young Mishaal’s life-changing trip into the very same desert. Her pride in her heritage was rewarded in spectacular fashion when in 2018 she was commended for her scientific achievements by King Salman of Saudi Arabia.
“I embrace my cultural roots while demonstrating that progress and tradition can coexist. I take pride in being a Saudi woman who contributes to the advancement of my country and uses her global platform to showcase the potential of Saudi Arabia and its people.“
But these hefty achievements brought with them a realisation; Mishaal saw them as a clear sign that she carried a responsibility to help others through the barriers she herself had fought so hard to overcome. She became a vocal and passionate advocate for studying STEM and encouraging younger generations to pursue their wildest dreams, no matter the social expectations, gender stereotypes or difficulties that may stand in their way.
“One must remain positive and hopeful, no matter how difficult the journey becomes. It’s important to understand that success is not an entitlement – it’s something you must prepare for, work towards, and earn.“
Mishaal’s long list of successes is by no means complete. Alongside her work to encourage and advocate for budding young scientists across the Arab world, Mishaal is working to boost the space industry in the region, allowing for exploration and new discoveries. But her ultimate goal is to travel into space herself, to walk on the moon or on Mars, and to make her six-year-old self’s wildest dreams come true – so watch this space!
Mishaal’s out-of-this-world story is now available in comic book form as part of our collaboration with Under the Abaya and Twisted Comics, and you can pre-order your very own copy here! The project is raising funds for women’s initiatives across Saudi Arabia, so get your order in soon to support this wonderful cause!
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