Maya Ghazal ( Arabic: مايا غزال) is a UK-based Syrian refugee, a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, the first female Syrian pilot, and a Diana Award winner.
Ghazal was born to a father who ran a fabric factory on the outskirts of Damascus [1] and has two brothers. [2]
The Syrian civil war started in 2011, when she was 12 years old. [2]
In September 2015, [3] at the age of 16, with her mother and siblings, following the path that her father took, Ghazal fled Syria to Birmingham, UK. [4] In the UK, she struggled to continue her education, because 16 is a legal school-leaving age in the UK, no school was obliged to accept her, and the schools did not respect her Syrian education credentials. [1]
The family moved from Birmingham to London. [2]
In 2017, Ghazal was one of 20 people to be given a Diana Award. [5] [6]
Ghazal studied aeronautical engineering and pilot education Brunel University London. [1] [3] In 2020, she became the first female Syrian refugee pilot and in 2021 she became a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassador. [2]
Maya Ghazal ( Arabic: مايا غزال) is a UK-based Syrian refugee, a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, the first female Syrian pilot, and a Diana Award winner.
Ghazal was born to a father who ran a fabric factory on the outskirts of Damascus [1] and has two brothers. [2]
The Syrian civil war started in 2011, when she was 12 years old. [2]
In September 2015, [3] at the age of 16, with her mother and siblings, following the path that her father took, Ghazal fled Syria to Birmingham, UK. [4] In the UK, she struggled to continue her education, because 16 is a legal school-leaving age in the UK, no school was obliged to accept her, and the schools did not respect her Syrian education credentials. [1]
The family moved from Birmingham to London. [2]
In 2017, Ghazal was one of 20 people to be given a Diana Award. [5] [6]
Ghazal studied aeronautical engineering and pilot education Brunel University London. [1] [3] In 2020, she became the first female Syrian refugee pilot and in 2021 she became a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassador. [2]