Sheikha Mozah and US Glossy Magazine Vanity Fair

Credit South China Morning Post

The First Lady of Qatar Her Excellency Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser has been recognized  by Vanity Fair as amongst the most stylish women in the world .Vanity Fair is a popular and glossy US magazine and its vote is revered in the US fashion scene. Julien Macdonald , the fashion guru of UK,  a few years back praised her official wardrobe and called her as the very epitome of a royal. This is no small compliment coming from a leading fashion designer for the British Royal family.

Credit NICK VERREOS

Shakira ‘s Encounter with the Qatari First Lady

The First Lady is also UNESCO’s special envoy for basic and higher education and takes her work seriously. In a well publicized encounter with the Colombian singer Shakira both ladies finalized an arrangement to provide education to 50,000 Latin American children.Her wardrobe and the manner in which she carries herself exudes power, confidence and a flaunting style which every woman aspires to exhibit. The First Lady has emboldened the fashion consciousness of the Qatari woman.

Credit Hola

Emirati Women

Traditionally Emirati women have combined a demure gaze , seductive modesty accentuated by smokey eyes and attempted to adorn themselves in a manner to project virtue in public. Even the Hijab or headscarf is invariably from a branded clothing line and subtly blends with the attractive and swaying attire.Access to the internet and exposure to Western values and culture upon frequent travels abroad have in a manner of speaking brough the world’s fashion at their doorsteps.The wave of liberalisation sweeping across the Arabian sands is seeing for the first time Emirati and Saudi women treading a delicate line between the imperative of modesty prevailing in a tribal and ultra conservative environment and expressing feminine vanity which is a natural response to Western cultures and empowerment.Gone are the days of the fabled and amorous Arabian Nights.

Credit Emirates Woman

The Arab woman , whether she is from Qatar  or Saudi Arabia or an Emirati is facing an identity crisis and contradictions are emerging in the conventional dress code and her changing role in one’s own country which has publicly announced its futuristic vision such as the Saudi Vision 2020.Arab women are not in an envious position as they have to conform to conservative notions of dressing and adornment and at the same time reconcile with the image of a modern corporate woman in a male dominated workplace.