First Wives Club
Jul 29th, 2008 by pedestrian
Who are the wives of Middle Eastern rulers?
All around the world, first wives are more exemplary of luxurious mantelpiece decorations than real, decisive policy makers.
From Suha Arafat, the eccentric wife of the late Palestanian authority Yasser Arafat, to, Jackie Kennedy and Carla Bruni, it is their taste in clothes, and lavish lifestyles that garner our attention. Come it election season, in many parts of the Western world they are often portrayed as “important” assets but this particular blogger believes that to be more to do with a media obsession than a real, decisive issue. Rather than an aid to the president, they serve as a window to his soul, mind and/or libido. An arm piece with which we can indulge.
Iran
As a male dominated Islamic theocracy, it is all but expected that Iran’s first lady has never been particularly active. The first lady as defined by the Western world is a relatively new concept in the Iranian political stage. In fact, before the rise of Reza Shah, there was never “one” first lady. The Iranian monarchs were not as smart as the Emir’s of the Gulf today who put the other wives in the back closet, and bring forth the prettiest, most photogenic into the public eye.
Farah of Iran, although successful in her plight for the arts, has served as a model for subsequent wives of brutal regimes like Jordan, Egypt, etc. A semi-architect with refined taste and millions of dollars worth of oil money to burn, she was the elegant face of an otherwise brutal regime.
After the revolution, the only first wife to have a – relatively low key – public persona was Zohreh Sadeghi, wife of Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, who did attend public meetings and lectures occasionally. Here she is at Iran’s First International Conference on Aging. According to the conference’s mission statement, it was held to honor “The International Year for Older Persons, 1999″ and for the purpose of promoting human principles and exploring new ways of better understanding the elderly and the aging phenomenon. In this conference 96 papers were presented during 6 plenary and 8 specialized sessions.
The wife of the current president is a mystery to many. She has accompanied President Ahmadinejad on only a few state visits and her name is unknown. But to take her image (or lack of) at face value as the ultimate symbol of female circumstance in that country is leagues from an accurate interpretation.
What many continuously forget is that Iran’s government stands behind the façade of a religious establishment – an extremely male dominated atmosphere in all religions – be it the high ranks of orthodox religious Jews, Christians or Muslims. The fact that women are not often seen within the high ranking government posts, or are seen wearing the traditional black chador which has for decades been the garment of choice for the deep religious groups of Iran, does not indicate where women as a whole stand in Iranian society.
Syria
Without knowing too much about her, I have taken a liking to Assam Al-assad the London born wife of Syrian “president” Hafez Al-Assad.
Perhaps becasue the Syrians have not outdone her the way the Azerbaijanis or Jordanians have their first ladies.
Farah of Iran can stand as a predecessor and/or mold on which the two latter first wives have been created: take an extremely brutal regime, throw on his arm a well spoken, well dressed good looking woman … And voila, there you have a democratic, civil state that is a “friend of the West”.
But I find it interesting that Asma was born and bred in London.
It used to be in olden days of imperialism that the “evil, wicked powers of the West” would come to the Middle East and lead coups or riots or mass revolts to put forth their own leaders. Today, that is no longer necessary. A great number of Middle Eastern rulers (and/or their wives) are born and bred within the U.K and speak beautiful, eloquent English.
With the mass migration having taken place in the past few decades, and with the large number of Middle Easteners in the West this should come as no surprise.
The surprise is that they are all, from Qatar to Jordan to Egypt, linked to the U.K.
The Nixon doctrine has indeed worked well. And so right was My Dear Uncle Napoleon.
Jordan
And nowhere else has it worked better than Jordan – a puppet state from its creation. A country where a cruel dictator and a clueless bimbo trot the globe reaping aid for his brutality and her wardrobe.
And she (Rania of Jordan) was not even good looking before the plastic surgery:
Take away the designer clothes and the makeup, and there is nothing left but a “book of quotes” as Oprah called her (in high praise I may add).
Azerbaijan
I am guessing that Azerbaijan’s first lady Mehriban Aliyeva, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors is going for Sofia Lauren with the multitude of facelifts and rhinoplasty. But I do not think she pulls it off that well. She is a doctor and was born into a highly educated family of scholars.
Marrying a despot has its drawbacks. All those generations of scholars down the tube and out comes a 60s inspired femme fatale.
“Aliyeva is fast becoming an important player in the Byzantine world of Azeri politics, where powerful pro-government clans compete for a slice of the country’s burgeoning oil wealth. Some already see Aliyeva, as carving out a role for herself independent of her husband, who has strived to shake off a playboy image since coming to power in 2003.”
Egypt
Suzanne Mubarak, the half Egyptian, half Welsh wife of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak:
Qatar
This is Sheikha Mozah Bint-Nasser Al-Missned, the second of the three wives of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar and the mother of seven of his children.
Israel
Meet Aliza Olmert, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. An artist, photographer and social worker she is, in the media at least, portrayed as much more left wing than he is.
Turkey
I know many Turks would rather be associated as a European state than a Middle Eastern one, however, I have included their first lady in these pictures. This is Madame Emine Erdoğan.
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If there is one living fact in the Middle East today it is that the world does not get its facts straight when it comes to that region.
It is one of the most heavily bombarded areas of the world, and yet, one of the most misunderstood.
As Middle Eastern females, what misconstrues and demoralizes our struggles more than the inner powers that attempt to restraint us, are the outsiders (our claimed mouthpieces in many circumstance) who have never viewed us with moderation and with knowledge of our histories and stories and predicaments.
The entirety of the West is living inside a ‘green zone’ in this region: walled and gated by the real populations; oblivious and ignorant of the realities which are on the ground.
Whether positive or negative, commentators briefly touch and scan the surface. More profoundly, many critiques provided by media and political outlets are plagued by the same virus that hits most interpretations and narratives of the Middle East: seeing the entirety of the region as a bundle; a whole. Many analyzers do not (and can not) clearly distinguish between the Syrian and the Omani, the Lebanese or the Azerbaijani.
While people in any region of the world are bound together by common experiences, each of these woman, and each of these people, has also had a personal story and a personal plight which defines them in their entirety.
More unfortunate is that, the media and political outlets have become an extremely vicious exemplary of simplification. And this is where the Jordanian system has reaped the rewards. As long as the “image” of these countries, as personified by their rulers is good looking and “western like” they are deemed progressives.
This goes far enough that presidential candidates in the United States or prime ministers in the U.K. praise on end the “progress” and the “development” of such countries, while blasting the same level (if not more) of growth in countries in its vicinity.
But, whatever Middle East first ladies may be, they certainly outdo their Western counterparts in the most delicate of traits. At the end of the day, whomever they may be, and no matter what their attire, be it a chador, veil, YSL tux or Armani, hey, at least they wear a bra.
Nice article, you can perhaps submit it to NYT!
You become hasty in later parts though. In some cases, I just see a picture leaving me unfulfilled in my desire to know more about the person.
Thanks, I enjoyed.
LOL
Thanks Peyman!
NYT does publish a lot of junk, so I guess I do have a chance! but its usually junk in text-format. I can’t submit a couple of pictures! Because you are right. Some of these ladies are basically really unknown. I couldn’t find much info about them.
And oh, one more thing: despite the bigotry that exists in the publication, I’m not sure how they’d feel about my use of the word “bimbo”!
Clearly, Bruni doesn’t need one….
Yes, oh so “clearly”!
…….. but was it really necessary to show the world that she didn’t?
Then again, with all the nude pictures of her lying all over the place, what’s the difference?
BWAAHAH!
I’m definitely including this on our friday links!
I wish there was more pics of these ladies floating around! Politics aside, I’m a big fan of their wardrobes! I’d love to see more!
Interesting post. You can add the reclusive Sonia Peres, wife of Israeli President Shimon Peres, to the list. She has never appeared with him in public events, much to his dismay.
From what I’ve seen of Queen Rania she seems intelligent. I wouldn’t call her a clueless bimbo at all. If she were dumb, she wouldn’t be allowed to be so prominent in representing Jordan to the world.
Hi Emmanuel ……….
Sonia Peres? I just googled her. Very few photos of her out there. From your comment, I can tell why.
Don’t get me started on the Jordanians! I will probably put another post about them up here soon … But this is my previous recollection.
I used the word “clueless bimbo” because I didn’t want to use something worse!
I didn’t mean it literally. They are certainly not “clueless” … But certainly far, far from what they try to cut themselves to be. A puppet state from its creation and ruled by ruthless, arrogant men.
I know that’s the story of the entirety of the Middle East, but it insanely irks me that in the world stage and Western media, they are exempt from all of it because of their appearance.
What’s Farah doing behind Sarkozis?!
It’s the funeral of Yves Saint Laurent in June. Apparently she was a devotee of YSL … He designed her wedding dress for her when he was creative director at Dior (and they “remained close friends” according to AP)
I dislike the skunk stripe of her hair growth more than her dangling boobs
LMAO!
You make a remarkable point! I hated her hair too. Maybe I am a pervert, because the boobs are what initially shocked me!
the writer of this piece is absolutely not familiar with French culture. after all, what is wrong with no bra? she used to be a model. models are self-confident enough to show the real shape of what they have or here what they don’t ( what has really shocked you is the non-make sense real shape of very small boobs). besides, if you walk in Parisian streets you see so many bra less women. make up your mind! you acted naive at the end of your article.
the writer of this piece is absolutely not familiar with French culture.
Well, I wouldn’t declare myself an expert, but I’m not completely ignorant either.
But that wasn’t my point!
This is a state funeral, and I have never seen a first lady bra-less at a state funeral (including French first wives). She may be a model and it may be so that if you walk in Parisian streets you see so many bra less women, but state functions are known to be black-tie events.
Doesn’t the world pick on Ahmadinejad for wearing those lousy jackets? Why? Because from Zimbabwae to Belguin and Brazil, statesmen are dressed according to a certain code.
(now you could get into an argument about how an international dress code is wrong, but that’s another day and another cup of coffee!)
Good one Ped!
Of course, why would YSL have a ’state’ funeral?
He didn’t design Bras, did he, by the way?!
:O)
He wasn’t a lingerie designer per se, but he did at times design outfits with only a teeny bra at the top!
But I think he did deserve a state funeral! He was one of their most renowned artists … a master.
Queen Nour, wife of the late king Hussein, might have been an exception. She is, intelligent, eloquent, and beautiful (dahh!) I did watch a couple of long interviews with her and, both times, I was very impressed by her. I think she was Princeton educated, if I’m right, but I don’t know if she spoke Arabic or not! For the life of me, I can never understand women! Why would a young & beautiful educated woman marry a much older king!
Here. This will drive you mad….
Hahahah 99
… I am in Iran and the link you sent me is blocked! …. Ahhhhhhhhh … the joys of censors.
Hey wait a minute … I Just checked the URL. Is it Vanity Fair’s slideshow of Carla Bruni? I saw it before I left ………… Interesting … to say the least!
Bijan, you are right, Noor was Princeton educated. And she does not sound that bad. Nor does Rania, nor did Farah (at least not all the time).
The problem is not that these women themselves are uneducated or gullible, but rather, who they represent. King Hussein was by many standards a puppet, an incompetent dictator and, along with his father, one of the worst plagues to have hit the Palestinian cause.
But that’s not how he is judged. Indeed, it is Noor that becomes his “image” in the Western media. As is Rania for Abdullah.
These were and are backward regimes, as bad as any other. The fact that they are not judged on the basis of what they are, the fact that they are only judged on the merits of their pretty, well spoken wives is what really gets me angry! That being an ally of the West exempts you from all other standards.
Dear Ped,
instead of criticizing first ladies, better focus on your achievments.
Re face lifts and no bra..
People have a Free chice what to do with their faces and what to wear on their bodies. You seem to be somebody who is a slave of prejudices.
Thanks Farah for reading!
This is a blog and is meant to portray my thoughts/ideas about the rest of the world and not my personal life! I’m not sure what sort of blog you run, but most people I know are not too comfortable with posting their life online – achievements or otherwise. So I’m not sure how you figured out my focus on personal achievements – or lack of.
People have a Free choice what to do with their faces and what to wear on their bodies.
No, unfortunately they don’t! Whether it’s simple decorum, tradition, threats, or ridicule, people in the public eye are restrained – or at least should be.
And yes, face lifts and designer clothes are personal choices, but they are not virtues as portrayed in the American media where the prettiest first wives in the Middle East are deemed leaders of phony “democratic” nations! And as a resident of such nations, I have every right to criticize!
Ok, now’s my turn: 1st of all, great site! Love the pics, subject matter, and your irreverent comments!! As for Ms. Bruni, she should def. have worn a bra. Also what the heck is she wearing pants at a funeral for? Both were disrespectful (even though who knows–she and YSL may have had some sort of in-joke about that look). But nice to see a current picture of Farah Dhiba. Now, speaking of plastic surgery: what I want to know (& can’t find out via internet) is WHO was Sheikha Mozah’s plastic surgeon? She looks plasticene, yes, but on her I actually love it. She’s just so…..mannequin regal!
Hi Jane … Thanks for reading … I want to know that too! If you find out, do let me know!
I think the botox is just a tad too much, but you’re definitely right … she looks plasticene, but in a good sort of way.
I liked Your article, but you didn’t mentioned the active role of HE Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak what is done for humanity, education, peace, reconstraction, and so many support was given for the youth.
in Iran HIM Shahbanou Farah Pahlavi did a great role for educating people, and else know she is the hardest working Lady promoting Iran Culture.
Mrs. Aliyeva is very Young one but in a short of period did great things on establishing building new museums, libraries. She become Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO and ISESCO.
Hello Rovshan,
Thanks for reading
I don’t know much about Suzanne Mubarak! And I don’t claim to!
This post was on current first wives – that’s why Farah was omitted.
Charlize Theron and Angelina Jolie are also goodwill ambassadors. It’s more of a trophy position than a real one – so her being one doesn’t account to anything. However, I don’t know much about her either. If she is a cultural activist, kudos to her!
Hi there,
Your blog: I loved it, enjoyed it also because I was researching & telling ppl the same thing what you have written. I shall ask you to add here our real! First Lady!!! HE Mrs. Hayrünisa GÜL, the wife of the President of Rep. of Turkey. If you like I can give you some links where you can find also officical information about her. I can’t say more over here hence there is a possibility that I might be prisoned or fined for my words on both ladies., incase some of their members also reads here.
It is a shame to see that the country I was born, Turkey, right now is represented by two radical islamist women as if we are all the same. We are not. I prefer they could be one of the Emirates or… I don’t know, but certainly not a Mrs. Saudi (if any or how many) and not the Iranian First lady.
Thanks to you, your blog cheered me up really.
Take care,
Hugs from Istanbul
ps: Pls forgive me if any typing or grammar mistakes
Hi Ebru and thanks for stopping by!
Oh! So the lady here is not considered the first lady?