REVOLUTIONARY RANIA
We first met her as a Princess. Later, she became a Queen. But if she had her way, she’d want you to call her simply Rania. Women don’t come any more inspiring than this. This week’s most inspiring woman is the ever-graceful Queen Rania of Jordan.
With a warm smile and self-deprecating humour, Queen Rania comes across as a poised, gracious woman in her 30s. And that assumption would be true, except that this 30-something is also a Queen, married to one of the world’s most powerful men.
ROYAL LOVE AFFAIR Rania became the Princess of Jordan at the age of 29 when she married Abdullah II, who would later go on to inherit the throne.
“I just wake up and feel like a regular person,” she says. “At the end of the day, you are living your life for the people that you represent,” she says. “It’s an honour and a privilege to have that chance to make a difference – a qualitative difference in people’s lives – and it’s my responsibility to make the most out of that opportunity.”
It is this humble, uplifting attitude that has turned her into one of the most beloved royals, not just in the Middle East but globally too. Among the many roles that she fulfils, Rania is a wife, a mother, an advocate and a humanitarian. But her main passion is education, where she works diligently with Jordanian agencies and organizations to improve the quality of education.
“Educate a woman, you educate a family. Educate a girl, you educate the future,” she says.
THE RIGHT TO LEARN “Education isn’t a line I’m spinning. It’s a lifeline that’s saving.
Saving families. Saving futures,” says Rania.
Rania was born in Kuwait but fled the country with her family when Kuwait was invaded by Saddam Hussein. She has since earned a degree in Business and worked in the banking sector before marrying Prince Abdullah.
Beyond her own country, she also serves as an Eminent Advocate for UNICEF, campaigning for the rights of women and children at events from the World Economic Forum to the Clinton Global Initiative.
AHA MOMENT “In my mind, poverty is a she,” Rania told Oprah Winfrey when she visited the talk show host for an inspiring chat in 2006.
In the hopes of bridging this economic gap and creating sustainable opportunities for the world’s poor, Rania is passionate about economic empowerment, especially of women. She told Time Magazine about the concept of “village banking”, a campaign in support of micro-financing as a means of helping those in poorer, developing nations.
“I believe in microfinance because it isn’t just a path out of poverty. It’s the road to self-reliance. By allowing people to team up and literally become their own bank, you can mobilize people and resources and alleviate poverty on the global scale.”
MONEY MATTERS Rania addresses an audience at the 2009 World Economic Forum held in the Dead Sea region, where she stated her case on the importance of a renewed commitment to sustainability and a new way of thinking in facing the challenges of the Arab region.
MATERNAL FIGURE Rania is mother to four sprightly children: Prince Hussein, Princess Iman, Princess Salma and Prince Hashem.
“Children keep us in check,” she says. “Their laughter prevents our hearts from hardening. Their dreams ensure we never lose our drive to make ours a better world. They are the greatest disciplinarians known to mankind.”
PICTURE PERFECT It’s not hard to see why Rania has been voted as one of the world’s most beautiful women. In 2009, People Magazine in the US named her as their 4th most beautiful woman in the world.
INSPIRING WORDS Rania is even a best-selling author! Her novel “The Sandwich Swap” tells the uplifting story of two girls who come to embrace their difference by exchanging stories at school. She has gone on to write two more books, also targeted at young children.
THINK TANK Two of the world’s biggest game changers – Queen Rania meets with Michelle Obama in the White House’s Yellow Oval Room.
A MEETING OF MINDS Rania and her husband, King Abdullah II of Jordan, chat with England’s Prince William and Princess Kate.
SWEATING IT OUT Rania is a keen jogger and has competed in national road races for charity.
When she’s not fulfilling her official duties, Rania enjoys a good book and admits to being a big fan of Desperate Housewives and 24. In her own words, she “makes a mean chocolate chip cookie.”
Queen Rania encapsulates so many of the qualities that we, as women today, should strive to achieve. Beyond her success and ambition, she has a genuinely giving and compassionate spirit that shines through in all that she does.
Let’s try and incorporate some of Rania’s goodwill into our own lives and try to be that inspiration to others, and to ourselves!
Janelle xoxo
