Suzanne Al Houby

سوزان الحوبي

Born: Jaffa region (Palestinian family), Palestine

Domain: Sports

Recognition: GLOBAL

Biography

Suzanne Al Houby is a Palestinian mountaineer who made history as the first Arab woman to climb Mount Everest and the first Arab woman to complete the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each continent. Of Palestinian heritage and based for much of her life in the United Arab Emirates, she came to high-altitude climbing relatively late in life, transforming herself into a pioneering figure in a sport with almost no Arab female presence before her. On 21 May 2011 Al Houby summited Everest, becoming the first Arab woman to reach the roof of the world. Her ascent was the culmination of years of preparation that had begun in 2003, when she became the first Arab woman to reach Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar. Each successive climb extended her record of firsts across the great ranges of the planet. Her Seven Summits quest took her to Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Aconcagua, Mont Blanc as a training peak, Vinson in Antarctica, Carstensz Pyramid, and Denali in Alaska. Denali proved the most formidable, requiring three separate seasons of attempts in punishing conditions; she finally reached its summit in 2016, completing the Seven Summits and cementing her status as a trailblazer for Arab women in extreme sport. Beyond her personal achievements, Al Houby built a career around adventure and inspiration. She founded Rahhalah Explorers, an adventure-travel company, and has used her visibility to encourage women across the Arab world to pursue physical challenge, resilience, and self-belief, framing mountaineering as a metaphor for breaking barriers of gender and expectation. As a Palestinian carrying her identity to the highest and most remote places on Earth, Al Houby expanded the imagination of what is possible for Arab and Palestinian women. Her record-setting climbs earned wide coverage in regional and international media and made her an enduring symbol of endurance, ambition, and pride.

Why This Person Matters

She is the first Arab woman to summit Everest and complete the Seven Summits, redefining what is possible for Palestinian and Arab women in extreme sport.