The Royal Glam Squad
Laaleen
Khan
http://tribune.com.pk/story/338349/the-face-of-contemporary-muslim-royalty/
http://tribune.com.pk/story/338349/the-face-of-contemporary-muslim-royalty/
Before these
ladies married their princely husbands, it was unheard of for a Moroccan
princess to feature prominently in the public sphere, for a Saudi royal to wear
dresses that didn’t conceal her shapely calves or her long hair, and for a tweeting
Jordanian queen to work with a rock star (i.e. Bono) for a poverty alleviation
campaign that put them both on the cover of a prominent magazine. By promoting
their wives as royal figureheads, monarchies seem less outdated than in preceding
generations. That the Royals spend exorbitant sums on their wardrobes hardly
comes as a shock when the Arab world is considered to be the world’s largest
consumer of haute couture. 
Queen Rania of Jordan, 43, consort to the 50-year-old King Hussein II, is a Palestinian-descent mother of four whose sense of style has catapulted her to the global A-list as an international fashion icon. The queen favours knee length dresses and jackets for her daytime appointments, and gowns for the red carpet, only occasionally donning a caftan. Critics even found her better dressed than Carla Bruni-Sarkozy during the Jordanian visit to Elysees Palace.
Princess Ameerah
Al Taweel, 28, is the fourth (and only current) wife of notable billionaire
Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud, 56. She’s also the first princess in Saudi
history in the limelight, much to the dismay of her husband’s uncle, the King. Her
ensemble at Britain’s Royal Wedding is among her best couture looks, where she dressed
head-to-toe in stunning, custom-made Zuhair Mourad (dress, coat, hat and clutch).
Her Highness
Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned of Qatar, 60, is the second of the three
wives of the Emir Of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, 79, and mother to seven
children. She is widely regarded as figuring among the world’s best-dressed
women. An avid follower of couture, the Sheikha’s stylish interpretation of the
hejab is eminently chic, terribly
expensive and a turban, her signature look, has never looked so glamorous as it
does on her.
Rocking the caftan Marocain: Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco, 32, consort to King Mohammed VI and mother of two, is the first princess in her country to be publicly acknowledged with a royal title. The flame-haired princess frequently dresses in vivid silk caftans belted at the waist at formal occasions, along with tailored suits and dresses during the day. Her elegant sister-in-law, Princess Meryem, 59, and her attractive daughter, Princess Sukaina, 25, are equally known for their glamorous fashion sensibilities; their caftans at Monaco’s Royal Wedding were the most striking outfits among the dignitaries present.
Pakistani-origin princesses:
Princess
Sarvath El Hassan of Jordan, 64, pairs regal tiaras and tailored dress coats
with her traditional saris and counts
Rizwan Beyg among her designers of choice. Crown Princess for three decades (before
King Hussein changed his choice of successor from Princess Sarvath’s husband to
her nephew), the Cambridge-educated, Taekwondo black belt holder has a
distinguished Pakistani lineage. Her father, Mohammed Ikramaullah, served as
Pakistan’s first Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and her mother, Begum
Shaista Suhrawardy, was one of Pakistan’s first female parliamentarians. Princess
Sarvath’s four children include three daughters, all of whom dressed in
Pakistani joras on their mehndis as part of their otherwise contemporary Arab weddings. Princess Rahma, 43,
Princess Sumaya, 41, and Princess Badiya, 33, sport eclectic styles including
pantsuits, dresses, kameezes and
caftans. 
Sense before style: In their own words
“We’re very quick to get upset when we’re being
treated badly, but I don’t see the same level of protest when Muslims treat
non-Muslims badly; for example when Christians are murdered in Iraq or
Pakistan, where are the furious demonstrations? And what about when it’s
Muslims against Muslims? Where’s the outrage when it comes to non-Arab Sudanese
being massacred in Darfur? Where is the outrage about the Sunni-Shi’a
bloodbaths? We’re good at complaining when it’s the ‘non-Muslim Westerner’ who
we see as being the perpetrator, but we’re very reluctant to take
responsibility for ourselves” (in an interview with Emel magazine in 2011)
“No matter how many great things we
do, we’ll always be judged as a country that suppresses women because we’re the
only country in the world where women can’t drive….We (Saudi women) are not
backwards. We’re not second-class citizens. Maybe the rules are backwards and
the policies are backwards, but it’s not us. We’re educated. We’re very much
respected in our families. We’re entrepreneurs, businesswomen, social leaders” (interviewed
on The Today Show in 2011).
“There are 600 million girls shackled by
housework or work in factories; many fall victim to early marriage, sexual
abuse, HIV. So I push for girls’ education because it works. Girls’ wages can
go up by 20 percent for every year of education. Look at any country that’s
plagued with poverty, disease or violence; the antidote is girls. Girls are the
antibodies to many of society’s ills” (in an interview for Glamour magazine as
their 2010 Woman of the Year).
“There
can be no political or institutional empowerment of women unless their
economic, social and cultural rights are promoted, and unless women become part
and parcel of the development process” (in a 2009 speech at the Higher Council of Arab
Women).
"How can we, in all sincerity,
talk about women’s political participation in parliaments that are farcical…The
truth is there is nothing in our religion to prevent women’s political
participation. Women are excluded for the same reasons men are excluded" (in a speech delivered at Rice University in 2007).
