Full of life, energy and interesting anecdotes is how I remember the time spent interviewing Maitha Alali. A mother to five children between the age of 19 and 6, Maitha grew up in many countries. Cities changed, languages changed, friends changed, but books remained her loyal companion. Having grown up in different cultural climates, she could not master Arabic as a language as a child. When Maitha finally moved back to the UAE, she shares that she ran away from Arabic - her mother tongue. She was made fun of for her lack of command over the language and teachers asked her to sit at the end of the class due to this. “it is in the same schools that my books are now used to teach kids Arabic” she shares rather proudly. What brought about this turn around, I ask her curiously. When she was young, Maitha’s father told her stories that enthralled her, captured her imagination and brought characters to life. As a young mom, she set out doing this for her kids. She told them many stories and at a point when those characters came alive, Maitha decided to pen these stories down. “When I was a little girl, I had no picture books or story books that could help me learn Arabic. So I decided to write stories in Arabic. I want children to be friends with the language.” And this was the beginning of Maitha becoming a celebrated and award winning writer and illustrator.

With five young children in tow, wasn't it hard to manage a career as a writer? “I used to scribble notes all the time. All funny incidents that happened in our lives, I would note in my book. The stories would flow out of me. I would write while I drove my kids to school, to different activities, at home, everywhere. And then when they slept at night, I would sit and edit those stories.” Maitha shares. In less than 10 years, Maitha went on to publish 171 books, becoming an international writer. Some books were also translated into English and Turkish and used in curriculums at schools around the UAE, various Gulf regions as well as used by parents around the world to teach kids Arabic at home. She also was the recipient of various awards including: best book in the Children’s Forum, Riyadh (2011), nomination for best translated book at the Marsh Awards, UK (2013), best picture book at the Publisher’s Forum, Sharjah (2016), nominated for best picture illustrations for Zayed Award 2020 and others. Maitha also has to her credit “Wadeema” the first Children’s Law Book in the UAE created with Dubai Courts launched in 2021 which she illustrated. Maitha also writes for children’s TV shows, including the newly relaunched Arabic version of Sesame and the Emirati cartoon series “Hamdoon”. Recently she published her first Young Adult novel “Tofan”.

Did she ever face gender discrimination specially as she was one of the very first children’s books writers of the UAE, I ask her. “I started in 2008 and till now no universities in the UAE offer specialization in children’s books or picture book illustrations. I had to personally self-learn, attend any book / art related workshops in literary and art events to improve and hone my skills. But I never felt any discrimination. In fact, I found the government to be helpful and supportive to help young writers come through.” She did face one issue though: Bullied to have chosen to cover her face despite being a celebrated writer and illustrator, Maitha deals with this with ease, just the way she has her family and career. “I don’t want to be remembered for the way I look, but for my stories and illustrations” her words were strong, clear and of a mindful woman having made her own choices. “Like superman, I have a cape in form of my niqaab.” she shares with an infectious voice. The choice of attire a woman chooses to follow is hers alone and none of it defines her lack or belief in traditions. Privacy to do her thing and liberation to make her own choices is how Maitha defines her acceptance of the Naqaab.

Maitha now spends most of her time illustrating since she discovered that the children of her community needed picture books so that they can see themselves in them and be proud of their identity and heritage. She owes her success to her supportive husband and children. “They’re my biggest fans. I started writing for them, and now my stories have reached so many kids across the world”. A dreamer since she was a child, she feels writing and illustrating is not her ultimate destination. She wishes to evolve into becoming a script writer and filmmaker for children’s films someday. Approachable and full of humility, Maitha feels that her biggest achievement is still having faced her fear of learning the Arabic language and turning it into her super power. Here is to super heroines like you Maitha, those that conquer fears, make dreams come true and live by example.