The glittering event at the Langham Hotel was hosted by Alice Abdel Aziz, a social-media influencer and entrepreneur from Lebanon. This year a special award was presented to women fighting to end the scourge of ‘honor’ killings.

In his opening speech, Omar Bdour, CEO of the London Arabia Organization and the Arab Women of the Year Awards said: “As a society, we are now used to watching news about honor killings and just flicking to the next story. The shock has worn off. However, in August, another honor crime shocked the Arab world … Israa Ghrayeb.” Bdour was referring to the 21-year-old Palestinian who was reportedly beaten to death in Bethlehem after she posted a selfie with her fiancé a day before they were supposed to get engaged.