Zainab Al-Eqabi

An accomplished television presenter and parathlete, Zainab has had to overcome a great deal of adversity to reach the level she has today. Zainab had to adjust to a new way of life after suffering life-changing injuries as a child when an undetonated Gulf war bomb exploded in the garden of her family home in Baghdad when she was just 6 years old. After her injuries became significantly worse in hospital, Zainab had to have her left leg amputated. 

This devastating accident impacted her whole family, not just in the sense that both her father and younger sister were also physically injured by the accident but in the more emotional sense that Zainab would require support in finding a new place for herself as an amputee in Middle Eastern society

Despite the difficulties Zainab faced, she has drawn on her experience and focussed her energy on helping others. An advocate for the rights of disabled people, she first caught media attention when she established a Facebook group called "Disabled and Proud", which she set up in response to the stigma she had observed against disabled people throughout the Middle East. Today she continues to use her social media platforms, which have a following in excess of 1.5 million, to inspire and motivate the public, sharing her adventures and demonstrating that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

Throughout her career, she has pursued a wide variety of sports from swimming to cycling and drew particular attention when she trained to become a scuba diver. As a parathlete, she has completed two triathlons in the United Arab Emirates and completed the 2020 Dubai Fitness Challenge. Zainab is also a proud ambassador for the prosthetics manufacturer Ottobock, becoming the first woman in the Middle East to serve in this role. 

A familiar face to many, she is also a popular television host throughout the UAE, becoming the first amputee TV host in the Middle East when she appeared on the show Yalla Banat on MBC1. 

Zainab is a popular choice for inspirational and motivational speeches, thanks to her upbeat attitude and vast experience on stage as well as in front of the camera. She can speak both English and Arabic and her talks are always grounded in personal experience and her own positive mindset when overcoming adversity