When Women Show Up for Each Other: Some Reflections on Female Support I Learned From Camel Circle
This morning, I sauntered over to a neatfully laid out yoga mat for a deep stretch session offered by one of the women from Camel Circle, a small group of ladypreneurs in Abu Dhabi that I started earlier this year.
I decided to join the session because it had been one of those weeks where my shoulders practically lived somewhere near my ears, and the idea of slowing down felt like an overdue luxury. I was walking into the class with a migraine I’d been carrying around for two days… needless to say, my heart, my mind, and my ability to focus were not firing on all cylinders. Nevertheless, this was an opportunity for me to exercise some extremely rare, and pure self-care.
Another lovely lady from Camel Circle decided to join as well. As we settled into the practice of moving slowly, focusing on our breath, and just living in the moment, this overwhelming feeling of peace and happiness came over me. This was two ladies, coming together to walk alongside and support another member of our circle. I felt lifted. You’ll know the feeling if you’ve ever showed up to support a friend and cheered them with all your might all the way to the finish line. It felt good… the stretch was the self-care, the support was the soul-food.
At the end of the session, we took a photo together to commemorate friendship, support, and a shared commitment to choosing ourselves and each other. Later, when I looked back at the photo, it reminded me of something I’ve always believed but sometimes forget: when women show up for each other, their world gets bigger, brighter, and infinitely more possible.
When I first started Post Script, it was in service of women. I wanted women in Abu Dhabi to know that they would always have someone in their corner to help them start their business off on the right foot. Whether it was through advice, or a visit to the licensing authority, or a bit of a nudge to get started, my hope is that after a conversation with me, they walk away with the feeling that they’ve gained a cheerleader.
That feeling stayed with me on the entire walk back home, so I decided to sit down and write about it.
Why Showing Up for Each Other Matters More Than Ever
Women often carry more than people realise… more than _we_ even realize, to be honest. We juggle homes, children, ambitions, businesses, relationships, and the emotional weight of trying to hold everything together… all this while navigating relocations and our own identity shifts. And while we are incredibly capable individuals, life can still feel isolating, especially when we’re in a new country, moreso when you are building something from scratch.
I have seen it time and time again- but not nearly enough… when we as women intentionally show up beside each other from a kindness and support standpoint, there’s an unmistakable sense of feeling seen, and heard, and held. The loneliness goes away, and our confidence starts to grow. Ideas we were holding on to out of fear gain wings to fly. Our journeys gain momentum. Our cups get filled.
As I write this, photos of the morning are trickling into our Camel Circle WhatsApp group. Emoji reactions are starting to pop up on each photo, and more messages of encouragement are coming in… even expressions of FOMO (fear of missing out) and desire to participate in an upcoming session together. And just like that, I feel like my “why” is put into action, and all the ladies in the group feel inspired to be part of their fellow gal-pal’s journey! Amazing, isn’t it?
The Power of Women Supporting Women
When women show up for each other, the effect is rarely just emotional, although that is a beautiful and essential part of it. I feel like there is also something completely practical about it. I have found that women generally don’t “just” offer sympathy… they show up with their own perspective and ideas. They will offer to workshop your challenges, and offer encouragement and solutions that are rooted in their own experience…
Here are a couple of things I have observed over and over again.
1. Women help each other feel braver: a simple “you got this,” from someone who believes in you can do wonders when your own confidence feels shaky. When you’re surrounded by women who genuinely want to see you grow, you begin to take steps you might otherwise have delayed or avoid altogether.
2. Women give each other grace: we’re conditioned to push, push, push. So when other women choose rest and self-care, it can remind everyone else that that’s allowed, needed, and definitely should be part of the journey.
3. Women inspire each other: simply witnessing another woman navigate her challenges can light a spark in you. It doesn’t have to be a TED Talk. It can be someone showing up at a stretch class after a difficult week. It can be one baker offering another a hand with the licensing process. It can be someone who shares her whole story, vulnerability and all, to light an “I can do this” fire.
4. Women create emotional, social, and sometimes even physical safety: there’s an universal understanding among women about the weight we carry and the expectations placed on us. Being in a circle of women who “get it” brings a sense of ease that can’t be artificially manufactured.
5. Women help each other go further and faster: when the women around you are moving, learning, experimenting, and growing, you naturally start moving too. But it’s not because you’re trying to keep up… it’s because you levitate from the positive energy. When you have committed cheerleaders walking your journey with you, your ship moves further, faster. The winds in your sails are stronger, and your direction feels a lot clearer. And having a few shipmates helps the journey feels less overwhelming and lonely… because we all know that solopreneurship can be a lonely existence.
The Link Between Community and Entrepreneurship
In many conversations that I’ve had with women starting or growing their businesses, whether they’re new to Abu Dhabi, they’re renewing themselves after a long period of professional inactivity, and they’re trying to figure out what’s next, one theme recurs: business can be lonely. It’s especially true for women. Moreso when they are starting over in a new country… You know, you can have a partner, children, friends, family across the world, and a full calendar, and yet, you can still feel like you’re making these huge, big and scary decisions on your own. There’s always a feeling of pressure to know everything, to plan everything, to be everything. And when you don’t know the licensing system, or the cultural norms, or the local resources, or the newest social media trends, or marketing tricks, or even what the next step should be… it’s ridiculously easy to feel instantly lost.
This is why communities like Camel Circle matter so much because they provide that all-important sense of connection. The bonus is that there’s always someone in the group who has experienced one challenge or another, and triumphantly made it out to tell her story. In a group of women who are aligned with the idea that women rise up stronger and faster by helping each other out, you will always have a sounding board when you’re unsure, you’ll always have the deeply-rooted sense of connection, you’ll always have a judgement-free zone where you can ask any question that’s been on your mind. Your circle should say “you belong here,” and “you’re not alone”… when you start to feel understood and valued, I promise you, you start to make better decisions for yourself and your business, and in turn, your family too. When you feel supported, you gain the courage to leap higher and further.
Camel Circle: A Space for Connection and Courage-Boosting
You know, when I launched Camel Circle, it was initially meant to be a space for co-working. I had intended to create a space where we could hunker down and work together, sometimes bounce ideas off each other, maybe have a coffee break in between… but from the very first session, it veered off in a totally surprising direction. Absolutely no one took their laptop out. They grabbed a coffee or a tea, or a glass of water and a snack from my table, and then sat in a circle in my living room and just shared. They got right into getting to know each other first, which created an environment of trust to share areas of their businesses they felt the most vulnerable in… and that sparked brainstorming, and advice, and knowledge sharing that came from a genuine place of wanting to see each other win it.
Camel Circle became a place where even I could exhale, and where I could grow friendships alongside my seedling business. I saw it as a place where my vulnerability wasn’t seen as a weakness, but as a departure point to grow from, and develop knowledge and strength as I went. Over the months, I have observed a marked positive difference in my own business journey, and I know others who are part of the group feel the same.
Month after month, we share ideas, and swap resources, and even hold each other accountable in the gentlest of ways. We’ve started celebrating each other’s wins. We believe that even the small wins are huge and always worth a mention. We show up for each other in person, on social media, in recommendations, etc… not because social convention suggests that we should, but because we genuinely want to.
Finding Your People, And Why It Matters
If you’ve ever felt the ache of doing everything yourself, then you undoubtedly already know how important community is. We as women thrive when we feel supported and encouraged by others who want to see us grow. Those who watch others in their circle succeed also feel inspired to ride higher for themselves. And if you’re reading this thinking, “jeez, I wish I had a circle like that,” please know that you’re not alone, and it’s definitely not too late. You can find your people, and you can build your circle. You can wholeheartedly experience the lift that happens when your people show up for you. Camel Circle is one option. But even if Camel Circle may not feel like your space, look for something similar. Find a group where you feel that sense of connection, and like you can exist where you are a slowly make your way up. Where you don’t feel like you immediately need to “keep up”. Things don’t happen overnight, so it’s important to find a group where you feel like you have the grace to go at your own pace, because trust me… you deserve that. We all do.
A Closing Reflection
I’ll carry that photo from the deep stretch session in my heart for months to come. At first glance, it’s nothing fancy. Just a handful of women, hair tied back, faces slightly flushed from stretching. But every time I will look at it, I will see so much more. I’ll see the bravery of our wonderful instructor for sharing in our WhatsApp group that she was holding the session. I’ll see the sense of belonging in the smiles. I’ll see the feeling of community and women showing up for each other, not just in business, but in life too.
And you know, it makes me wonder how many women out there are waiting for this feeling. How many are craving connection, but haven’t yet found their circle. How many are trying to build their ship alone when they were never meant to.
If that’s you, consider this your invitation to find your people; the women who lift you; the circle where you can breathe, stretch, grow, and rise.
Whether it’s Camel Circle or another group entirely, consider giving yourself the gift of community this holiday season. When women show up for each other, it is a gift, and life, and business start to feel a lot more possible… and dare I say fun!
Keep moving forward, one messy step at a time, Camels!
If you would like to join Camel Circle, please fill in the Google Form here, or reach out to me through WhatsApp at +971 56 210 5627. Everyone is welcome, no matter where you’re at in your journey.
