Founding chief editor of the English Edition of Al Masry Al Youm, Fatemah is a graduate of the American University in Cairo, from which she also received a master's in political science. Before joining Al-Masry Al-Youm in January 2009, she divided her professional time between the newsroom and journalism training and education. She was a senior reporter and Assistant Chief Editor at Al-Ahram Weekly, worked for the regional bureau of the Washington Post, was a full time staff reporter for the Middle East Times-Egypt, and has freelanced for a range of local and international news organizations.
As an educator she has held the position of Training Consultant for the Heikal Foundation for Arab Journalism and has also consulted and trained for various organizations including the European Union, the British Council, and Free Voice. She also taught journalism at the American University in Cairo for two years and continues to dedicate time to journalism training.
Fatemah began her career specializing in development issues with the United Nations Development Programme, and as a reporter and newspaper editor she has dedicated much of her work to covering social issues.