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#DrivenByWomen: Fahima Falaknaz, The UAE's First Female Boxer "Whenever you take that first step, the opportunities will come, and doors will open for you."

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For Emirati Women's Day 2024, Entrepreneur Middle East and AW Rostamani Group's Arabian Automobiles Company, under the banner of #DrivenByWomen, are putting the spotlight on four female achievers from different walks of life in the UAE who, with their unique capabilities and contributions, are essentially driving the future of the nation.

Under the banner of #DrivenByWomen, these ladies will offer a peek into the precepts and principles that have guided their personal journeys to success; plus, by finding common ground between them and some of the finest automobiles under the banner of AW Rostamani Group's Arabian Automobiles Company, they will also seek to distill their own particular driving forces, and how they can be harnessed by other Emirati women wanting to follow in their footsteps.

In this edition of #DrivenByWomen, we are putting the spotlight on Fahima Falaknaz, who made headlines as the UAE's first female boxer when she participated in the 2019 Asian Boxing Confederation Championship in Thailand. Falaknaz's achievements are proof of the power of grit and determination when going after one's goals—however, she'd like us all to remember that it all started, because she decided to simply take a chance on herself.

Fahima Falaknaz is pictured here with the all-new Nissan Z, which has been billed as an approachable sports car for the modern age. And given her background as a sportsperson, it's not hard to understand why Falaknaz found this vehicle—with an unmatched 50-plus year heritage and a global fan base—to be a match for her own persona. "Being an athlete, I like sports cars, and I think the Nissan Z represents me. It's sleek, it's strong, and it's fast, especially on the curve–I like driving on the curves!" Falaknaz laughs.

"My message always is to take that first step," she says. "It's very important to take some kind of action. Whenever you take that first step, the opportunities will come, and doors will open for you." These are the kinds of insights one can expect at a program that Falaknaz runs today called Mindful Children, which helps kids to build their confidence and resilience through the sport of boxing. However, it is also indicative of the importance Falaknaz places on lifelong learning—as she put it: "For me, it's all about self-development. I always make sure that I'm learning something new every day."

For Emirati Women's Day, Falaknaz chose the all-new Nissan Z for a drive to one of her go-to spots in Dubai, and we got to join her on this ride. Check out the trip—as well as the insights Falaknaz shared during it—by checking out the full video above!

Related: #DrivenByWomen: Emirati Inventor Fatima Alkaabi

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