Samira Khashoggi

Samira Khashoggi (, 1935 – March 1986) was a Saudi Arabian progressive author, as well as the founder of Al Sharkiah magazine. She was the sister of the Saudi businessman Adnan Khashoggi. She was the first wife of Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed and the mother of filmmaker Dodi Al-Fayed. She died of a heart attack in 1986 at the age of 51. Early life and education Samira Khashoggi was born in 1935. Her father Muhammad Khashoggi was King Abdulaziz Al Saud's personal doctor. She was educated in Egypt. Career Khashoggi wrote under the pseudonym Samirah, 'Daughter of the Arabian Peninsula'. Her books include Wadda't Amali (Farewell to my Dreams, 1958), Thekrayāt Dām'ah (Tearful Memories, 1963), Wara' Aldabab (Beyond the Cloud, 1971), Qatrat Min ad-Dumu''' (Teardrops, 1979) and Barīq Aynaik (The Sparkle of Your Eyes). Since 1972, Al Sharkiah has been the leading monthly pan-Arab women's magazine. In 1962, Khashoggi began to head a women's welfare association, Al Nahda, which was based in Riyadh and was the first organization targeted towards women in Saudi Arabia. She was one of the Saudi women who supported the education of girls.