By Asmaa Fathy

Before the 2011 revolutions, I have never seen a good portrayal of Muslim women in media.

The women covered by the media usually played into the stereotypes of Muslim women as weak, silent, and victimized, and the only discussion about Muslim women that ever got any airtime was about their clothing.

Many so-called experts, media gurus, and politicians obsessed over head-scarves (hijabs), face veils (niqabs), and cloaks (burkhas), clearly believing that Muslim women were somehow defined by their clothing choices.

But When the media images of women from Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen began rolling in, I was thrilled.

Here were women who were neither submissive nor silent, and their clothing appeared to pose no barriers to their participation in the demonstrations.

There were pictures of young girls with hijabs tucked around animated faces, arms raised high and fingers split in the universal signs for victory and peace.

There were images of women in niqab bowing down in prayer shoulder-to-shoulder with men, in front of tanks and barricades and screaming revolutionary slogans in Arabic and English. In fact, some of the key leaders in the protests were women wearing hijabs.

In Yemen, Tawakul Abdel-Salam Karman, a fiery female activist managed to lead the protests while wearing a hijab and black burkha. many egyptains women whom is credited with a significant role in igniting and then leading the revolution in Egypt, wore a hijab

Owner of image www.queenrania.jo

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah is a mother, a wife, a boss, an advocate, and a humanitarian. She once said, “I just wake up and feel like a regular person. At the end of the day you are living your life for the people that you represent. 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.”   For that reason, Queen Rania spends much of her time listening to and talking with the people of Jordan, to learn from them the best way to improve their livelihoods and Jordan’s prospects.  

 Queen Rania spearheads efforts in Jordan to adopt a holistic approach to national education, encouraging agencies and organizations to work on classroom quality, teaching standards, computer access, family involvement, community investment, and health awareness. Through initiatives, like Madrasati and the Teachers Academy, Queen Rania is helping Jordan’s children get the best start in life by repairing and revamping local schools, while inspiring teachers to be their best.  She believes that the power of partnerships between the public, private, and non-profit sectors is a source of great potential for change in Jordan’s education system.  

 The Jordan River Foundation (JRF) is Queen Rania’s NGO that gives a helping hand to the disadvantaged in Jordan.  For over ten years it has provided families with skills and knowledge to work themselves out of poverty. Today, it partners with the private sector and entire communities to bring resources, energy, and change to the lives of vulnerable citizens, empowering and inspiring them to believe they can make a difference for themselves and their loved ones.  JRF is also recognized as a leader in the region for its achievements in protecting children.  From rescuing abused children to healing whole families, JRF is now a centre of excellence, sharing its knowledge and know-how with others in and outside of the country.

Abroad, Queen Rania works for greater global action on access to quality education, and in her capacity as Eminent Advocate for UNICEF and Honorary Chairperson for UNGEI, she campaigns on behalf of children in need. She also participates in international gatherings, such as the Clinton Global Initiative and the World Economic Forum, of which she is a Board Member.

As an Arab, Muslim woman, Queen Rania is committed to reconciling people of different faiths and cultures by encouraging cross-cultural dialogue, particularly amongst young people.   A keen runner, and seeker of good jogging tunes, Queen Rania enjoys spending time with her family and friends in Aqaba, where she can relax and get into a great book. She also makes a mean chocolate chip cookie.   Her Majesty is married to King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein of Jordan, they have 4 children: Prince Hussein, Princess Iman, Princess Salma, and Prince Hashem. www.queenrania.jo

Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned is the second of the three wives of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar. She married the Emir (at the time Crown Prince) in 1977 at the age of 18, while she was attending Qatar University. She has seven children, five sons and two daughters.

She graduated from Qatar University in 1986 with a BA in Sociology and holds several posts in Qatar and internationally:

• Her Highness currently serves as UNESCO’s Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education. In this role, she promotes literacy in the Arab world and Asia.
• Her Highness is also a member of the High Level Group of the UN Alliance of Civilizations which was established to assess the forces that contribute to extremism and recommend collective action to counter those forces.
• Her Highness is the first Arab and the first woman to be awarded the Prize of the Royal Institute for International Affairs from Chatham House, a world renowned British think tank that focuses on contemporary global affairs

At Her Highness’ initiative, some of the organizations established to help families include the following:

• Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs
• Al Noor Institute for the Blind
• Qatar Establishment for Orphan Care
• Qatar Establishment for the Care of the Elderly
• Qatar Establishment for the Protection of Women and Children
• Maternity and Childhood Cultural Center
• Center for Marriage Counseling
• Youth Rehabilitation Center

Unlike many other monarchical wives in the Middle East, Sheikha Mozah has been a high-profile figure in her nation’s politics and society, actively involved in Qatar’s government. She was a driving force behind Education City and Al Jazeera Children’s Channel. Additionally, she has been named as one of Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women at #79.

Sheikha Moza has been honored with honorary doctorates from Virginia Commonwealth University, Texas A&M University, Carnegie Mellon University, Imperial College London, andGeorgetown University‘s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Her Royal Highness Princess Masna (or, full title in Malay: Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Masna binti Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddin Sa’adul Khairi Waddien).

She graduated from Universiti Brunei Darussalam with a first degree and a Masters. In 1995, she was appointed as the Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where she led a number of delegations abroad both as Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as Ambassador-at-large. She is also active in other areas including being the Patron for the Girl Guides Association as well as being Commander of the Women’s Police Corps.

• 1995-Ambassador-at-Large and Second in Command of the Foreign Affairs
• 1997 Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1998 (March-April) Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1999 Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 2000 (November) Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs (Head of the APEC Summit)
• 2001 Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs (Head of Delegation to ASEM Summit)
• 2002 (January) Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 2003 (June) Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs (Head of Delegation to ASEAN Summit)
• 2004 (June/July) Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs (Head of Delegation to ASEAN Summit)

Benazir Bhutto  was a Pakistanipolitician who chaired the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a centre-left political party in Pakistan. Bhutto was the first woman elected to lead aMuslim state, having twice been Prime Minister of Pakistan (1988–1990; 1993–1996). She was Pakistan‘s first and to date only female prime minister. She was the eldest child of former Pakistani prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Nusrat Bhutto, and was the wife of currentPakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. Bhutto was sworn in as Prime Minister for the first time in 1988 at the age of 35, but was removed from office 20 months later under the order of then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan on grounds of alleged corruption. In 1993 she was re-elected but was again removed in 1996 on similar charges, this time by President Farooq Leghari. She went into self-imposed exile in Dubai in 1998. Bhutto returned to Pakistan on 18 October 2007, after reaching an understanding with President Pervez Musharraf by which she was granted amnesty and all corruption charges were withdrawn. She was assassinated on 27 December 2007, after departing a PPP rally in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, two weeks before the scheduled Pakistani general election of 2008 where she was a leading opposition candidate. The following year she was named one of seven winners of the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights.

Megawatri Sukanoputri also known simply as Megawati, is an Indonesian politician, and leader of opposition party. PDI-P. She served as the President of Indonesia from 23 July 2001 to 20 October 2004 and was the country’s first female President. She is also the first Indonesian leader to be born after independence. Megawati is the daughter of Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno.  After serving as Vice-President under Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati became President when Wahid was removed from office in 2001. She ran for re-election in the 2004 presidential election, but was defeated by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the second round. In 2004, she was ranked number 8 on Forbes Magazine’s list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

Iranian lawyer, human rights actvist and founder of Centre for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran. On October 10, 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women’s, children’s, and refugee rights. She was the first ever Iranian, and the first Muslim woman to have received the prize.In 2009, Ebadi’s award was allegedly confiscated by Iranian authorities, though this was later denied by the Iranian government. If true, she would be the first person in the history of the Nobel Prize whose award has been forcibly seized by state authorities.