Maisah Sobaihi is a Saudi academic, playwright and performer. She works as an assistant professor of English literature at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah.
She is known for her work in theater in Saudi Arabia and around the world. She has represented Saudi and Arab women in a number of regional and international forums and events, and is widely respected as a contemporary voice for women.
Sobaihi holds a Ph.D. in English literature from King’s College, London, and a bachelor’s degree from King Abdul Aziz University. She was also a Fulbright scholar at New York University.
Sobaihi aspires to support theater within Saudi Arabia to raise awareness of Arab and global social issues. She wants to continue putting on her plays locally and internationally and to establish a platform for those who share this interest and passion with her.
Sobaihi participated in the Italian Language Week at the Italian Cultural Club in Jeddah. She performed her play “Head Over Heels,” giving her script an Italian twist. She expressed her pride at being a representative of, and a voice for, modern Arab women. However, she identifies herself simply as a woman with the passion to share her experiences with the world.
“These experiences that I’ve shared with you here are particularly about Saudi women, so I choose experiences that are contemporary and I hope those voices come across,” she recently told Arab News.