The essence of an Omani woman

The essence of an Omani woman

By Maimuna Al Sulaimani Not in the dress I don’t think it is in the dress. It is much more than that. You can’t judge a book by its cover and you can’t call a woman an Omani just by looking at her dress. There has to be much more than that. It is in that glow It is in...
I have given wings to my children

I have given wings to my children

Ruqaia Thani Al Wahaibi Ruqaia Thani Al Wahaibi is a perfect example of an ordinary woman with the halo of extraordinariness around her. And not just a halo. Her extraordinariness is not just a figment of our imagination – it is in and all around her. It is in the way...
Success is earned, not inherited

Success is earned, not inherited

Hasna Al-Daoudi The world is replete with tales of the middle aged and elderly not giving up on their dreams. Here in Oman, in search of such nuggets, the Purple stumbled on Hasna Mohammed Al-Daoudi, an Omani woman from Sur, in South Sharqiyah, who has breathed new...
Let’s strive to leave a footprint wherever we can

Let’s strive to leave a footprint wherever we can

Yasmeen Al Balushi With these words, I started the journey of my life.  I am Yasmeen Al Balushi, married and a mother to four wonderful kids – Fatma, Amina, Mohammed and Yousuf. I had my first child when I was just 16.  And also, just some months before that,...
Burning bukhoor calms the soul

Burning bukhoor calms the soul

NADIYA SUBAIH AZBOOT BELAL Not a day passes by without Nadiya Subaih Azboot Belal encountering one challenge or the other. For this 60-year old grandmother, bukhoor maker and seller, from the New Salalah area in Salalah, facing one challenge after the other has become...
A boat laden with fish is like a treasure chest

A boat laden with fish is like a treasure chest

Salima bint Khalifa Abdullah Al SalhiAsk Salima bint Khalifa Abdullah Al Salhi what makes her happy and she quietly replies: a boat full of fresh fish from the sea!  “It always feels like a treasure – like an open chest with the world’s costliest jewels shining there...
No guarantees in life – only opportunities:

No guarantees in life – only opportunities:

Hamama Al-Abd Al-Jaradiyah  Most people who live in the Maragha area in Wilayat Musannah (*) would quite often wonder how Hamama Al-Abd Al-Jaradiyah always managed to find wood from even the unlikeliest of places. When other wood collectors often came back empty...