Majd Al Zeyara

Dr Majd Khaled Al Zeyara is a Qatari creative writer and businesswoman whose work spans literature, contemporary visual storytelling and social engagement. Raised in a cultured family, she developed an independent creative approach while keeping family responsibility at the centre of her life.

She grew up with five brothers in a family that held learning in the highest regard. Her father, media adviser Khaled Al Zeyara, and her mother, a poet and writer, created a home shaped by culture. She spent much of her free time reading, moving between science, religion, history and geography, and this breadth of knowledge nurtured her creative instinct. At six, she began collecting pictures from magazines and writing new stories around them. With the support and supervision of her teacher, she published her first book at the age of eleven.

That early publication led to an appearance on a children’s television programme presented by Huda Hussein, where she read her story live before an audience. It was her first encounter with readers and their response, and it deepened her attachment to writing.

Her varied accomplishments have made her an influential presence in Qatari society. Her contributions span dramatic writing and creative work more broadly, supported by a substantial body of literary activity.

She has published five books. The first, “Encrypted Notes”, confronts humiliation, loneliness and alienation and was translated into French. An extract was adopted in curricula in Beirut, while the book gained international circulation and drew the attention of fellow writers and critics. A contribution written by the dean of Beirut University College encouraged her to continue and to specialise in writing for adolescents and young adults, an audience she regarded as both neglected and rarely addressed. She developed considerable experience in writing for that age group and in responding to its particular psychology. Reaching a generation shaped by technology and speed, and often difficult to draw towards reading, became a deliberate challenge. She later published the novel “Tretra” as a practical example of her new literary school of the cinematic novel. “How to Control a World of Your Invention”, part of her doctoral thesis, also achieved considerable success in Qatar and attracted attention abroad. Among her principal social achievements is receiving the title of Qatari Women’s Ambassador from the Women Leading Change organisation.

Alongside her work as a writer, she owns and manages a commercial company built through sustained effort and discipline. She treats every moment as an opportunity for achievement, service and a distinctive contribution. During the Covid-19 pause, she reviewed what had come before, reconsidered the future and reorganised her priorities, returning to her commercial and creative work with renewed strength.

She has participated in numerous international forums, represented Qatari women in several countries and delivered workshops and lectures, particularly in cooperation with Qatar National Library, Qatar University and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

One of the achievements of which she is proudest was her nomination as an ambassador for the League of Arab States’ White Hands Campaign. Through it, she presented the Model Woman programme, which entered Guinness World Records after bringing together a distinguished group of women and highlighting their contributions to society. The campaign was the first media initiative of its kind in the Arab region and internationally. It was launched by the Union of Arab Producers for Television Works, operating through the Council of Arab Information Ministers under the umbrella of the League of Arab States and in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund. It invested visual, audio and print media in drawing attention to women’s issues across the Arab world.

To advance that aim, the campaign launched media projects and television programmes focused on social support, strengthening the concept and practice of motherhood, supporting women’s causes and protecting their rights. It called on governments and civil-society organisations to invest in women’s issues and included the television programme “The Model Woman”.

One of the most painful experiences a mother can face is seeing her child at the threshold of death. She endured that ordeal after taking her six-year-old son, Fahd, to a circus. Having missed the first two performances, they arrived in time for the third. While waiting inside the tent, she noticed that the venue appeared unsafe: there was no emergency exit, the enclosure was plastic and sealed, and it smelled of gas and cooking oil. Minutes after the performance ended, a Russian trainer emerged leading a large leopard by its collar and chain, passing close to visitors. Children crowded around to be photographed with the animal, but she kept her son at a distance and positioned him opposite it so she could take his picture. The trainer objected because photographs required payment, and an argument followed. While they were speaking, the leopard suddenly attacked Fahd, lifted him into the air and threw him aside, then sank its fangs into his neck. Blood sprayed from his small body onto children standing nearby. Although she had always feared even small insects, she threw herself at the leopard, pulled it by the ear, stood before it and stared into its eyes, trying to provoke it into releasing her son and attacking her instead. She offered it her hand and screamed for it to let him go.

Those minutes felt like an eternity as she watched her son lying silent on the ground, covered in blood, his eyes fixed and unblinking. Nothing mattered to her except his survival, and she could do nothing but pray for God to save him. Around them, the circus descended into chaos: children’s excitement became screams of panic, fear gripped the audience and people surged towards the only exit because there was no emergency route.

As the child fought for his life, several people intervened. A young Qatari man leapt onto the leopard’s back, brought it to the ground and bound its neck with his headband. In the struggle, the animal kicked her and caused a rupture in her rib cage. Two other men forced open its jaws and freed Fahd. Another person used his shemagh to help the child and placed him beneath a table. After a long wait, the ambulance arrived and Fahd was given another chance at life.

When news of the attack spread, people came from across the country to visit mother and son. The hospital administration told her that no patient had received so many visitors since the hospital opened. She was deeply moved by the affection of the people of Qatar and the concern shown by senior state figures, but the psychological impact on her and Fahd was severe. Eventually she stopped visits because every retelling of the incident caused further harm. Despite psychological support and the involvement of leading doctors, his condition did not improve, so she decided to work on his recovery herself. She turned to the study of self-development and energy, which later became a passion, and specialised in theta practice, which she describes as a form of supplication and communication with God. She has earned five certificates in the field and believes it is compatible with Islamic teachings.

Her son ultimately recovered with greater strength and composure. Together, they learned to meet hardship with wisdom and sound judgement.

She recognises that obstacles may come from people, circumstances or a person’s own psychological state. Her will has repeatedly driven her to rebuild her outlook, cultivate positive energy, develop herself and understand her own psychology so that she can deal with different kinds of people. She seeks to act with love, passion, purity of intention and sincerity, believing that these qualities ultimately lead to success.