Her Majesty Queen of Jordan Rania Al Abdullah and Jorge Sampaio, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilisations, received the 14th North-South Prize of the Council of Europe 2009, 16 March 2009, Lisbon, Portugal

Playing Favourites

If asked to name my five favorite women in the world, Queen Rania is one of them. I adore her at the risk of losing any journalistic integrity that I probably don’t have.

Without question she is a Smart Sensuality, Smarty Pants woman of epic proportions, a wife and mother to an entire nation, as well as her husband and four children.

I’ve tracked Queen Rania for almost two years now and find her to be the most progressive woman on the planet, just slightly ahead of Hillary Clinton, who is truly coming into her own in 2009.

In the best sense, Queen Rania is part of a royal couple and her role would be considered breathrough in America, not only the Middle East but anywhere in the world. Reading her websites and queenly schedule, I can confirm that Queen Rania may just be the hardest-working woman in the world.

Reading about Queen Rania in the Jordan Times or London newspapers, following her on Twitter, I see that she moves in a variety of high-profile initiatives, with far more freedom and influence than America’s first lady Michelle Obama.

DAVOS/SWITZERLAND, 25JAN08 - Bono (R), William H. Gates III, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation, USA (2R), H.M. Queen Rania (3R) Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, Gordon Brown (4R), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Yar’ Adua, President of Nigeria (5R) and other participants stand together to ‘Call to Action on the Millenium Development Goals’ during the Annual Meeting 2008 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 25, 2008. Copyright World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org) swiss-image.ch/Photo by Andy Mettler This photo from Davos, Switzerland 2008 sums up Queen Rania’s influence in the world: She stands between British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Bill Gates, with Bono an arm’s length away.

As some Muslim women make arguments on A of C why burqas are good for women, Queen Rania is one of the world’s most articulate female change agents. Burqas are not in her closet, although she admits that it irks her that Westerners see the burqa as a symbol of helplessness and oppression: “To us it’s a sign of modesty and devotion to God and it’s up to women whether they wear it.” via London Times

As a Muslim women, Her Majesty is committed to bringing her directly honest, moxie viewpoint to the most influential and important people on the planet. One doesn’t get the feeling that the Jordanian palace PR gurus have her on a tight leash.

Most of these movers and shakers are men, and this regal woman holds her own beautifully on the world stage. In this respect, Queen Rania is the ultimate 21st century woman’s role model for all women, not only Muslims.

Peace in Palestine

I was impressed to see Queen Rania in meetings with Jewish leaders this week. Her appearance isn’t a total surprise, given her frequent speeches about the stalled Palestinian/Israeli peace talks and the fact that her parents are Palestinian, although she was born in Kuwait.

Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania meet with delegates representing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Amman on Monday (Photo by Yousef Allan)On Monday King Abdullah and Queen Rania met with delegates representing the American Israel Public Affairs committee on the subject of stalled peace talks between Irael and Palestine.

Discussions focused on the imperative to overcome obstacles to efforts geared towards resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution within a regional context, according to a Royal Court statement.

King Abdullah stressed that the world has reached a crucial moment on the read to peace, and the players cannot change course, ignoring prevously negotiated agreements. I doubt the queen said a word. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know the details?

Jordan’s Queen Rania is biking with other participants in ‘Follow the Women’ peace ride in Jaber, north of Jordan, on September 21, 2005. The 250 women, from 34 countries, entend to bike from Beirut to Ramallah, through Damascus and Amman to attract attention on the peace process and the suffering of women under occupation. Queen Rania received them at the Jaber fronteer point (as they are coming from Syria) and did some biking with them to show her support to this action. via Flickr’s Ammar Abd Rabbo King Abdullah said the path to peace is clear and a settlement of the conflict can be done through the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state in accordance with the international resolutions and relevant terms of reference, especially the Arab Peace Initiative.

The peace proposal, the King said, provides an unprecedented opportunity to attain reconciliation between Israel and all Arab and Islamic states that support the overture, which was approved by Arab leaders at their 2002 Beirut summit. It offers Israel peace and full normal ties with the neighbourhood in return for its withdrawal from Arab lands it occupied in 1967, in addition to a workable solution to refugee issues. via Jordan Times

Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania meet with representatives of the American Jewish Congress in Amman on Tuesday (Photo by Yousef Allan)Continuing conversations with key representatives of Jewish organizations around the topic of Israeli-Paestinian relations, Queen Rania joined King Abdullah yesterday in another Amman meeting, this time with representatives of the American Jewish Congress.

Queen Rania is known for her articulate, outspoken but also fair and open-minded views on Palestine. Whether her focus is global politics, microfinance for entrepreneurs, or “honour killings” of women in Jordan, Queen Rania is on the forefront of the issue.

Child Abuse in Jordan

Yesterday Queen Rania addressed the topic of building a culture of respect in Jordan’s classrooms. Perhaps we should bring her here to America, in order to make the same speech.

Her focus was the results of a new study, conducted in collaboration with UNICEF and Jordan’s National Council for Family Affairs, that confirmed more than two-thirds of children in Jordan being subjected to verbal abuse by their parents, while 57 per cent experience physical abuse at the hands of their schoolteachers and administrators.

“It is a fact that in too many of our schools today, there are violent practices that do not reflect who we truly are and what we represent, and that saddens me,” the Queen said at the launch of the “Maan… Towards a Safe School Environment” campaign, which seeks to reduce violence against children in public and UNRWA schools in the Kingdom.

“Violence should never be a legitimate method of disciplining children. Humiliating students or instilling fear in them is unacceptable and counterproductive,” the Queen said, addressing around 4,500 ministers, teachers, school principals and representatives of the UN and the donor community. via Jordan Times

The survey, which covered 64,119 students, revealed that the most common form of verbal abuse consisted of shouting (45 per cent), while 40 per cent of physical abuse involved punishment with a stick.

In addition, 15 per cent of children were reported to skip school at least once during the year, due to fears of being threatened or hit by teachers.

When Queen Rania first raised the topic of child abuse in Jordan, conservatives were horrified. It was shocking that anyone would tackle this issue,” she says.

“It was very much a taboo subject because the family unit is the central support in our society. People felt issues like this should be resolved within the family. We want to develop a culture of prevention so people see when a child is in danger, and we’ve tried to build trust so it’s not seen as an attack on any family and we can say, ‘We’re not interfering, we’re here to help’.” via London Times

Reality is that you never know where Queen Rania will show up, but you know that she’s visibly involved in the critical topics of shepharding her adopted country Jordan into the modern age. I’ve loved her style since I first heard her on YouTube.

Women’s Advocate

Queen Rania with New York’s Mayor Bloomberg at TIME’s 100 Most Important People Dinner 2007. via Gawker MediaQueen Rania is a major spokesperson for the world’s women. Reading her post in The Daily Beast, I can hear her voice:

“The United Nations Foundation is working hard to raise awareness and resources to help girls in need. You can help, too. Learn more about how girls’ lives can be transformed and with them, how we can transform the state and fate of the world. Then teach others. Then persuade your representatives.

So, allowing me a few more clichés, if there’s one ace up our sleeve that can get the world’s economy back on a winning streak, it’s girls. Now let’s stop beating around the bush.” via The Daily Beast

As much as I love seeing Queen Rania making big speeches around the globe, or co-hosting the biggest dinner for important women that New York has ever seen, I also love her attachment to her own four children Prince Hussein, Princess Iman, Princess Salma and Prince Hashem.

“I make it a point and find comfort in tucking them into bed at night, reading them their favourite bedtime stories and reciting verses from the Koran to them as they sleep,” says this true woman of the new millennium told Hello Magazine.

The Ultimate Smart Sensuality Woman

The Italian ‘1GOAL: education for all’ campaign got off to a flying start when Queen Rania visited Rome a few weeks ago. Writing about Sarah Palin’s Newsweek cover yesterday, I asked if American men can honestly take a Smart Sensuality woman seriously. Queen Rania’s supermodel looks and wonderful physique make her a superstar in the fashion world.

Evaluating Queen Rania’s relationships with the world’s male power brokers, she is potentially at the top of the pyramid, in terms of influence across the widest spectrum of topics and players. What’s inspiring about this poised intellectual with a deep beauty and caring heart is the wide range of her contacts, countries and connections.

Photo via Flickr’s looclemeurIt’s pretty darn awesome seeing one late 30 woman, and mother of four, operate on her kind of jet fuel. Whatever you’re drinking Queen Rania, let’s get the world’s women on your routine, even if it’s decaf. Let’s bottle it for a new kind of capitalist enterprise — one with heart and concern for all the world’s people, not only the elite. You know what I’m talkin’ about. Anne