Hajar Ali
Hajar Ali (born 1978 or 1979)[1] is a Singaporean entrepreneur, founder of Urbane Nomads and the website Travel Like a Humanitarian. She was the first recorded woman to cross the Rub' al Khali, the "Empty Quarter" of the Arabian Peninsula.
Education
[edit]Hajar has a master's degree in strategic studies from the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore, now the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies; her thesis "[applied] James C Scott’s model of peasant resistance to the daily transgressions of Iranian youths against the ruling mullahs".[2][3][4]
Career
[edit]Hajar had previously worked as a real estate agent.[5]
Hajar founded Urbane Nomads, a bespoke luxury travel agency, in 2008 after conceiving the idea while traveling in Patagonia.[6] A lover of horses, she likes to include riding in the company's trips.[1][3] She later launched Travel Like a Humanitarian, a website on which NGOs can advertise travel offerings.[6]
In 2011, Hajar was included by Singapore Women's Weekly in its annual "Great Women of Our Time".[1][7]
In March 2012, Hajar made the first known crossing of the Rub' al Khali by a woman.[3][7][8][9] She intends to make a future expedition to the pole of inaccessibility in Antarctica.[4][9]
Hajar serves as the editor of Mensa Singapore's newsletter[10] and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Personal life
[edit]Hajar considers Singapore her home,[5][11] but as of November 2015[update] lives in Istanbul.[2] She has a Bengal cat named Loki.[5] Hajar is a practicing Muslim but does not wear the hijab.[2]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Great Women of Our Time: Finance & Commerce: Hajar Ali (32) Founder of Urbane Nomads" Archived 11 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Singapore Women's Weekly, 2011, at Urbane Nomads (pdf).
- 1 2 3 Hajar Ali, "Travelling in the Age of Terrorism : From the perspective of a Muslim woman and tourism professional", Medium, 24 November 2015.
- 1 2 3 Correne Coetzer, "Hajar Ali: Woman across Arabian Desert", Trek news, ExplorersWeb, 12 April 2012.
- 1 2 "Why It's Good to Be Hajar Ali, World Traveler", Seeker, 23 July 2012.
- 1 2 3 "Quarters of an urban nomad". www.stproperty.sg. Archived from the original on 12 February 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
- 1 2 Eren Cervantes-Altamirano, "The luxury of travelling to remote places", Aquila Style, 21 October 2014.
- 1 2 "Waves Lifestyle Issue #14 (Nov/Dec 2012)". Issuu. pp. 30–33. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
- ↑ Ponce de Leon, Janice (15 September 2018). "Ali stakes claim as first woman to cross Empty Quarter". Gulf News: Latest UAE news, Dubai news, Business, travel news, Dubai Gold rate, prayer time, cinema. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
- 1 2 "In A Niche Of My Own - HAJAR ALI - Be Movement". Be Movement - Celebrating the Courage to Be. 9 November 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
- ↑ Management Committee, Mensa Singapore, retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ↑ "I Heart My City: Hajar’s Singapore", Beyond the Guidebook, National Geographic, 28 October 2015.