Hadiya Saeed

Hadiya Saeed Abdullah Alatshan is a Qatari actor and an employee of the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

She grew up first in Al Mirqab and later in Al Muntazah, where her father worked at Sidra Hospital. Childhood unfolded among close family and neighbours whose relationships were marked by solidarity. Her father was both strict and affectionate, a wise figure to whom others turned to settle disputes. She accompanied him even to the majlis, became his confidante and drew from him the strength and self-belief that remained with her after his death.

Marriage came at thirteen to a husband twenty-six years her senior. She moved to Al Najma and had her daughter Sarah and son Abdullah while living in the family home. After returning to an extension at her mother’s house, she endured three miscarriages before the birth of her younger son, Abdulaziz. A state-provided house later gave the family greater independence and stability.

Her first acting experience came at primary school, when she played a mother in an end-of-term performance. The talent went largely unnoticed until she accompanied a relative interested in music and theatre to the Al-Adwaa troupe. At the Theatre and Music Department in Msheireb, she watched rehearsals led by director Kamal Mohaysi, volunteered for a role and memorised the entire script rather than only her own lines.

Discipline was learnt quickly. When conversation backstage distracted her and another actor, the director threw away her cup of tea and told her that carelessness would prevent her succeeding on stage. She responded by treating every rehearsal with greater seriousness, recognising that the directors of the period trained new performers with the firmness of parents.

Her family did not know that she was rehearsing. During her first stage performance, her brother climbed onto the stage, pulled her away, beat her and took her home, forcing the director to lower the curtain. Relatives and neighbours condemned her for working with men in a society that strongly rejected such mixing. The punishment did not end her commitment. She returned to acting, choosing modest roles and work that carried a social message.

Her husband became the principal supporter of both art and family life. He confronted criticism, encouraged her career and helped protect the space in which she could work. She repaid that loyalty when a stroke in 2005 left him dependent on care. His treatment included roughly six months at Hamad General Hospital, four months at the psychiatric clinic and nearly two years at Rumailah Hospital, during which she visited him every day.

A greater loss followed in 2007. Her son Abdullah died in an accident shortly after the engagement of his sister. The shock tested a heart already carrying earlier bereavements, yet her husband’s words, prayer and the rain that accompanied the period of mourning helped her accept that continuing to live was itself a responsibility.

Acting remained a source of public connection through stage and screen roles, festivals and honours. She also worked at the Ministry of Culture and Sports, joining cultural service to the artistic career for which audiences knew her. Her performances were grounded in the belief that art should reach people without abandoning family values or social responsibility.

Recognition included the honour of meeting His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. For a woman who had once been dragged from the stage, such moments represented not only personal success but a wider change in how artistic work by Qatari women was received.

At sixty, she continued to learn, work and approach life with optimism. Family remained the centre of that outlook: the memory of her father and son, loyalty to her husband, and responsibility towards her children gave emotional depth to a career built through persistence rather than an easy acceptance of her chosen profession.