Three women from different walks of life navigate what living in the UAE means to them.

The past two months have been surreal, to say the least. One moment, you are gathered for iftar on a calm Ramadan evening – the next, you are following the news in real time, trying to understand a geopolitical conflict that’s unfolding closer than expected.

In the space of 24 hours, everything seemed to pause. Work moved online, classrooms shifted to screens and daily routines disrupted. But here’s the thing about living in a country like UAE – we bounce back fast, even in the most challenging moments.
Resilience isn’t a term we use loosely here, nor is it something we speak about at length.

You simply see it in how quickly life regains its footing. Messages from the country’s leadership brought a sense of clarity and calm, reinforcing confidence at a time when it was most needed.

Within communities, people showed up for one another in meaningful ways. Doors opened to those who found themselves alone.
Residential group chats became spaces of support, whether that meant checking in on neighbours, offering help with pets, or simply staying connected. If anything, this brought people closer together.

In this story, we speak to three women from different walks of life to understand how they kept things moving, and what it means to do so in a placethat puts its people first – and fiercely at that.

Sara Al Arif

Entrepreneur and Executive Creative Director

Emirati creative strategist Sara Al Arif is known for translating cultural identity into visual and strategic direction. As Co-founder and Executive Creative Director of Two thirds, an Emirati-Saudi creative consultancy, her work spans cultural and brand projects across the region and internationally. Her portfolio includes collaborations with global brands such as Puma and Tiffany & Co., as well as regional initiatives.

For Al Arif, living in the UAE carries a strong sense of presence. “Being Emirati and living here means a deep sense of pride and a real sense of being held,” she says.

In moments when the world feels uncertain, that feeling becomes more apparent, offering a level of ease that informs how she moves through daily life. At a personal level, it is her daily rituals and close relationships that provide stability.

“My prayers, my relationship with the Qur’an, and the quiet structure of daily rituals give me a sense of orientation that is not dependent on what is happening externally,” she notes. “They create a kind of internal steadiness that does not get pulled by intensity or uncertainty outside.”

Julie Nguyen

Entrepreneur, Founder and CEO of Crunchmoms

Julie Nguyen has built a platform that supports women navigating the intersection of career and motherhood. A mother of two, her perspective is informed by more than 16 years of living in Dubai.

For Nguyen, the idea of home has taken on new weight. “The UAE is my home – it’s where I learned how to stand on my own, met my husband, and where I’m now raising my children and building my life and business,” she says.

Having arrived at 22, she has grown alongside the city, with both her personal life and professional path unfolding here. That connection to place shapes how she moves through periods of uncertainty. “I plan around energy – what fuels me and what depletes me – because that directly shapes how I show up for my children. When I know more is required of me, I create space beforehand to reset, whether through movement or quiet time,” she says.

At home, her focus is simple. “Stability isn’t constant positivity – it’s consistency in love and connection,” Nguyen shares. And maintaining that sense of steadiness, for her, is an ongoing process, built day by day.

Rani Ilmi

Entrepreneur and PR Guru

A third-generation Dubai native, Rani Ilmi has spent her career building brands across the region. As the founder of Frame Publicity, the agency she led for nine years before its recent acquisition, her work has brought names such as Van Cleef & Arpels, Magda Butrym, Malone Souliers, Hourglass, and Kosas to the forefront in the Middle East.

“I build brands,” she says simply – a role that demands clarity and speed.
“Uncertainty doesn’t faze me – I think entrepreneurs thrive on it.”

Having worked between New York and Dubai, Ilmi approaches change as something to move through, using it to refine direction and maintain focus.

The UAE, for her, is more than a base. “It’s quite simply my only home,” she says. With three generations of her family rooted here, that connection carries weight. “Today, more than ever, I feel an immense sense of pride to be raising my family in
a place that has given my heritage so much,” she adds. At home, grounding comes through discipline. “I’m a firm believer that mental resilience starts with physical discipline. My family lives a low-tox, health-conscious lifestyle,” notes Ilmi. “I’ve been gluten-free for 13 years, we prioritise an animal-based diet, practice red-light therapy, and maintain a fragrance-free, plastic-minimal home.

By stripping away ‘biological clutter’, we stay psychologically grounded and stable.”