Aisha Hussein Alfardan and Natra Abdulla speak at the Women Leadership Forum at Carnegie Mellon University

'Because the challenges faced by women can be very different from those faced by men - especially in the Gulf Region - events like this are every important,' says Khadra Dualeh, Director of the Office of Professional Development at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. 'This exchange of information and experiences on the unique challenges that women in this region face help better prepare our students for their own experiences in the business marketplace'.

Alfardan talked about her personal experiences in the business world in Doha, including the fact that she drove a car for many years in Qatar while women were still not allowed to drive. 'Even though women were not allowed to have a license, I didn't let it stop me. I wanted to do it, so I did,' she said.

Alfardan is the daughter of renowned Qatari businessman Hussein Alfardan, Chairman of Alfardan Group of Companies.

After graduating from Qatar University in 1993, she began a career with Commercial Bank of Qatar where she worked her way up from bank teller to Ladies Branch Manager.

In 2003 she joined Alfardan Automobiles to assist her father and brothers with the family business.

She now serves as the Director of Business Development and has steadily increased the number of car sales for women.

'I never thought I'd be a business woman,' she says. 'But I knew how women looked at cars and was able to apply that in a way that increased our sales'.

She has been so successful in her professional endeavors that in 2006 she was ranked 24th on the Forbes list of 50 Top Businesswomen in the Arab World.

Not only was Alfardan able to use her skills and drive to gain success in the workplace, she accomplished it all while balancing a husband and children.

Similarly, Natra Abdulla, Director of Mirage International Property Consultants and Doha Montessori & British School, Board Member of Qatari Businesswomen Forum, also shared the challenges she's faced as a working mother in Doha.

'A work and family balance is not easy,' she says. 'Not everyone can do it. You have to be dedicated and it's important in this part of the world to have support from your family'.

Abdulla, who also drove in Qatar before it was legal for women to drive, talked about the many challenges she has faced in her career including the fact that when she set up her first boutique in 1995 she didn't even attend its opening due to traditions at the time.

'Fortunately time has changed, she says. 'Now women can be whatever they want. It takes time to prove yourself, but you can do it'.

Abdulla, who graduated from University of Essex Colchester, credits Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser al Missned with the increase in opportunities for women in the local business community.

'Sheikha Mozah has given all women in Qatar an opportunity to be a leader,' says Abdulla. 'The booming economy of Qatar needs men and women to work together in order ensure the continued growth of the region'.

Both Abdulla and Alfardan are excellent examples of what women can achieve in the workplace when they set their mind to it. 'Women like Aisha and Natra are showing our students, as well as all young females in Qatar, that if they want something and work hard, they can make it happen no matter what obstacles may be in their way,' says Dualeh.