Nada Zeidan

Nada Zeidan is a nurse and sportswoman who represented Qatar internationally in archery and rallying. Balancing clinical service, motherhood and competition, she built an unconventional career defined by discipline, courage and a sustained willingness to challenge convention.

Born in Lebanon to a Palestinian father and a Turkish mother, she spent her first three years there before the family moved to Doha when her father received a position at the Amiri Diwan, a move that coincided with the Lebanese civil war. An early punishment at school, caused by her inability to understand the Qatari dialect, taught her to observe people and adapt quickly. Her mother’s roots in Mardin, memories of rural life and the example of a woman who managed a household of ten children also shaped her independence, discipline and pride in her origins.

As a teenager, she often felt an inner sense of displacement rather than alienation from any single place. Her character combined Palestinian, Turkish and Qatari influences, and she drew from each environment the values she found strongest. Responsibility grew after separation left her primarily responsible for raising her only daughter, Oyoun, but motherhood strengthened rather than ended her capacity to work and compete.

She entered nursing at eighteen and worked long hours in operating theatres, sometimes remaining in an operation for eight consecutive hours while also studying nursing at Qatar University’s College of Science. Practical experience brought the confidence of leading surgeons, but a promotion was delayed for ten years on the grounds that she was still a university student. After initially meeting the situation with patience, she used official channels to defend her record professionally and earned a reputation for ‘strict diplomacy’.

Combining university and clinical work left little time for campus life or uninterrupted study. She excelled in practical nursing subjects but struggled with courses that demanded literal memorisation rather than applied understanding. Conflict with the dean, who taught five courses, placed her academic progress under additional pressure at a time when her father’s financial circumstances had deteriorated and she had committed herself to helping her brothers complete university. She declined to file a formal complaint and instead tried to finish without confrontation.

The relationship changed when her clinical judgement alerted her to the dean’s visibly enlarged thyroid. Setting their dispute aside, she directed her to a specialist, arranged the appointment and accompanied her through surgery. The dean’s treatment of her changed afterwards, and she eventually graduated with an average mark. The experience reinforced her belief that achievement also lies in professional competence, humane relationships and inner confidence, not only in academic distinctions.

Her nursing practice combined strict attention to patient safety with compassion. On one occasion, two children had been refused access to their father after open-heart surgery because visits to the recovery room were prohibited. After seeing them plead for three days, she allowed them a brief final meeting with him. Years later, when her own brother underwent major surgery, visiting rules had changed and his family could see him in recovery.

Her sporting career began in archery in 2001. She represented Qatar locally and internationally as the first woman in the Gulf to practise the sport, and made her first overseas appearance at the 2002 Asian Championship in Busan. Although she had far less experience than the Korean and Chinese champions, international judges and coaches recognised her potential.

The men’s team initially resisted the presence of a woman, and she spent six years trying to build trust. When the budget did not provide her with a bow, she took out a bank loan and bought one in time to train for the Asian Championship. Her growing profile led the International Federation’s Women’s Committee and other officials to encourage an Olympic wild-card application through the national federation, although the attempt did not succeed.

Training in an exposed range required endurance through summer heat, winter cold and strong winds. She designed a competition uniform that respected the requirements of Arab and Muslim women while complying with international rules; after initial resistance, it was approved and later adopted for female archers in Qatar’s maroon colour. She also worked closely with Chinese coach Li Ling, overcoming the language barrier through patient communication. Together they attended Asian championships in Busan and Qatar, and she also won a gold medal in Malta.

A shoulder injury in 2006, six months before the Asian Championship in Qatar, threatened to end that career. She competed despite medical advice to stop and undergo surgery, accepting that her result would be limited. The Olympic Committee then funded treatment in Paris, and she completed rehabilitation at Aspetar, where a sports psychologist helped her recover from the depression caused by injury and separation from sport.

She later entered rallying as the first female competitor from Qatar and the Gulf. International interviews gave her an opportunity to challenge the assumption that Arab women were uniformly oppressed and to explain that women across the region held senior responsibilities while remaining proud of their religion and traditions.

Her first rally was the Qatar International Rally, the opening round of the Middle East Championship, with thirty men’s cars and four women’s cars. She overcame unfamiliar terrain, a heavy fire-resistant suit and the absence of air conditioning to finish seventh overall and first among the women’s teams.

Continuing required private sponsorship. After several unanswered approaches, a chance meeting at a sporting exhibition led to support from Al-Salam companies through Hassan Abu Issa and Issa Abu Issa. Their two-year backing included professional promotion, media training and private English tuition. The automobile federation provided logistical support and later selected her for Qatar’s five-driver team in the Middle East Championship. She explained publicly that the opportunity had followed her own approaches to sponsors and the federation’s willingness to support women.

Her family overcame its initial fear of motor racing and supported her, while she answered criticism that the sport would diminish her femininity or local identity. She competed in rallying, taekwondo, horse riding and swimming while maintaining the appearance and conduct she believed appropriate to a sporting ambassador for Qatar. In later years, marriage and motherhood led her to step away from public competition. She moved to her husband’s village in Syria, but after her pregnancy the family environment became strained and she sought divorce in 2017 so that she could raise Oyoun in a more balanced setting. The separation did not erase the affection and respect she retained for her daughter’s father.