Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Salman Al Khalifa is president of the Bahrain International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW Bahrain), the local branch of a network founded more than 90 years ago and now present in over a hundred countries. In a long interview with Roqayyah Alaaraj for the FemTalks programme, published in May 2026, she looked back on her life and gave young women some plain advice: be patient, don't fear failure, and keep going.
Muharraq and the family home
It all started in Muharraq. Sheikha Hind grew up in an extended family. Her uncles, their wives and their children all lived together, in what Bahrainis call beit al-oud, the ancestral home. Evenings, holidays and every other occasion brought the family together. She says this shaped her character and gave her a sense of belonging that has lasted to this day. She learned a great deal from her mother and her grandmother, and grew up with volunteering as a habit.
As a girl she watched her brothers leave for boarding school and waited for her turn. After high school she claimed the same right to an education. She studied anthropology at the American University of Beirut. Living among people of other cultures and religions taught her to accept others without giving up her own identity, she says. She speaks Arabic, English and French.
Family first, then work
When her children were born, she put her career on hold. She doesn't see motherhood as a reason to stop working, but as a question of priorities: a mother can step away for a while, and opportunities come back. Her own children started working young, through hobbies or volunteering, so they could find out what they liked.
Research and the ministry
She then worked in research, and at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. One case stayed with her. Children of unknown parents, raised in foster families, had no passports. She found a legal provision that allowed passports to be issued for them, and the ministry organised their first trip abroad, with their supervisors.
BPW Bahrain, a place to start a business
BPW Bahrain was founded in December 2012 and joined the international federation in 2013. Its members aren't only business owners. There are doctors, engineers, lawyers and bankers too. For Sheikha Hind, the fastest way to empower someone is to give them the right environment. That is the idea behind the federation's economic incubators, which she oversees directly. They give women, and men as well, a space to run their business, with training, a way to market their products, places at exhibitions and contacts with companies looking for something new.
She tells one story with obvious pride. The Egyptian jewellery designer Azza Fahmy, a great admirer of Bahraini gold, ran a gold design and goldsmithing workshop with BPW Bahrain for trainees from all walks of life. One of them, Aisha Abdulmalik, had the drive to go further and now has her own brand. Support alone isn't enough, Sheikha Hind says. It takes passion and persistence.
The founding members elect their board every two years. Anyone else can join as a "Friend" of the federation and take part in its workshops, seminars and field visits, to universities for example. Recent seminars covered AI and IT.
A culture of giving
Sheikha Hind wants giving back to become a habit for every Bahraini. "We need to build a culture of philanthropy in Bahrain," she says. In her view, every part of society, companies large and small included, has a part to play in developing the community. Her work covers children's education, help for vulnerable families and traditional crafts. Crafts can't stay stuck in old methods, she says. They need a contemporary touch to survive.
Advice for the younger generation
Many young people want to succeed fast. Her answer is patience. Shortcuts, she says, don't give work its real depth. Every job should be a step toward the next one, not a final destination. Hesitation won't help you move faster, and failure is not the end of the road. "Failure is learning." If an idea doesn't work, you rework it.
She also worries about screens. Technology is useful, but young people who only live through it lose touch with others. She wants a balance between technology and real human contact, starting in kindergarten, where children learn through play and exchange.
To women torn between their career and their family life, she recommends patience, and the support of friends, who can help without intruding.
Rights won, rights still to win
Sheikha Hind saw Bahraini women gain the right to vote and to stand for election after the National Action Charter. She also cites the Family Law, passed thanks to the Supreme Council for Women, chaired by Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa. Her own work fits with Bahrain Economic Vision 2030, which aims to build a diversified, knowledge-based economy.
Some people ask what more women could want, now that they have their rights. Her answer is that the gains are real, but they are not enough. Leadership positions and equal opportunities are on the table without being achieved yet. Ambition pushes women to ask for more, and that is their right.
She ends with an image. The generation before hers carried a torch and handed it on. Now it is the next generation's turn to carry it.
[Vidéo YouTube rm0AiAOgM7o en fin d'article, crédit : © Video: FemTalks / ROQ Production]
