Negin Fattahi-Dasmal with her husband Salem and four children. Courtesy: Maryam Fattahi Salaam
Negin Fattahi-Dasmal with her husband Salem and four children. Courtesy: Maryam Fattahi Salaam
Negin Fattahi-Dasmal with her husband Salem and four children. Courtesy: Maryam Fattahi Salaam
Negin Fattahi-Dasmal with her husband Salem and four children. Courtesy: Maryam Fattahi Salaam

'Her spirit will live on': tributes pour in after Dubai entrepreneur loses 13-year cancer fight


Kelly Clarke
  • English
  • Arabic

Tributes have been paid to a much-loved Dubai entrepreneur who has died after a 13-year fight with cancer.

Mother-of-four Negin Fattahi-Dasmal, who died on February 2, had been given only six to 12 months to live when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 31.

Described as a visionary and pioneer, the 44-year-old established several beauty salons in the UAE including N.Bar, 1847 and JetSet.

Her younger sister, Maryam Fattahi Salaam, said she fought with everything she had until the very end.

She wanted to live so badly for her family. Initially given a prognosis of six to twelve months to live, she defied all odds. She fought the fiercest of battles

"She wanted to live so badly for her family," Ms Salaam told The National.

“[It was] a rollercoaster journey from being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer at the age of 31 while pregnant with her fourth child.

“Initially given a prognosis of six to twelve months to live, she defied all odds.

"She underwent several surgeries, had repeated radiation treatment throughout her body and continued on chemotherapy and drugs.

“It exhausted her but she found energy in it as well. She fought the fiercest of battles and fought against the cancer that had consumed nearly all of her.”

After battling for several years with breast cancer, Ms Fattahi-Dasmal was told she had leptomeningeal cancer of the brain in December 2016, which later spread to her spinal cord.

Ms Salaam said her sister had done so much in her 44 years and was truly admired by people around the world.

Having lived in the UAE for nearly four decades, her body was laid to rest in "Dubai, the place she called home" last week.

Negin Fattahi-Dasmal, left, with her sisters Maryam, middle, and Yasmine. Courtesy: Maryam Fattahi Salaam
Negin Fattahi-Dasmal, left, with her sisters Maryam, middle, and Yasmine. Courtesy: Maryam Fattahi Salaam

Many shared memories of their time spent with Ms Fattahi-Dasmal over the years.

“Negin’s passion, innovative nature, and pure brilliance changed the region’s beauty industry 20 years ago, and her spirit will forever live on in our brands as we navigate through this difficult time,” management of JetSet Dubai posted on Instagram.

“This made me burst [into] tears. I will be forever grateful that I was given a chance to work with you. I’ve learnt so much from you,” a former colleague wrote.

Born in Iran, Ms Fattahi-Dasmal moved to the UAE in 1981 at the age of five.

Years later she met her husband, Salem, before having her four children Kian, 17, Alia, 15, Noor, 13, and Amir, 12.

Ms Salaam said the family would never find the words to express their sadness, but took solace in knowing what an impact she had made, both in her personal and professional life.

“She had a bright force that ignited her even as a child,” she said.

“She was such a lover of life and no goal seemed out of reach.

“She didn’t settle, she was never a rule follower, she pushed boundaries, strived for more and was the leader of the bunch.”

Ms Fattahi-Dasmal opened her first N.Bar branch in  2001. She opened 1847 in 2004 and JetSet the following year.

With 18 locations located across the country, her family said her legacy and hard-working spirit would always live on.

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The specs: 2019 Haval H6

Price, base: Dh69,900

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km

About RuPay

A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank

RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards

It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.

In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments

The name blends two words rupee and payment

Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs

The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo

Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km

Price: from Dh285,000

On sale: from January 2022 

Long Shot

Director: Jonathan Levine

Starring: Charlize Theron, Seth Rogan

Four stars

UAE squad

Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.

UAE tour of Zimbabwe

All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I

TRAINING FOR TOKYO

A typical week's training for Sebastian, who is competing at the ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon on March 8-9:

  • Four swim sessions (14km)
  • Three bike sessions (200km)
  • Four run sessions (45km)
  • Two strength and conditioning session (two hours)
  • One session therapy session at DISC Dubai
  • Two-three hours of stretching and self-maintenance of the body

ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon

For more information go to www.abudhabi.triathlon.org.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
French business

France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.

Golden Shoe top five (as of March 1):

Harry Kane, Tottenham, Premier League, 24 goals, 48 points
Edinson Cavani, PSG, Ligue 1, 24 goals, 48 points
Ciro Immobile, Lazio, Serie A, 23 goals, 46 points
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, Premier League, 23 goals, 46 points
Lionel Messi, Barcelona, La Liga, 22 goals, 44 points

Washmen Profile

Date Started: May 2015

Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Laundry

Employees: 170

Funding: about $8m

Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE BIO

Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren

Favourite travel destination: Switzerland

Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers

Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

It Was Just an Accident

Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

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Where to apply

Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020

Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.

The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020. 

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900