Sheikha Moza, an influential and stylish Muslim woman

There is a revolution in the Eastern world! Be the first to know about the woman who changed the way the East looks at fashion!

For the Arab world, her style is boldness. The former emir of Qatar allowed his second wife not only to remove her burqa, but also to interfere in state affairs.

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser al-Misned is the second of the three wives of the third emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the mother of seven (!) children, one of the most stylish first ladies on the planet and, no matter how surprising it may sound, political and social activist

The story of her life is quite in the spirit of oriental fairy tales, and if someone decided to make a series based on Moza’s biography, I think it would turn out something in the spirit of “The Magnificent Century”. Only instead of Sultan Suleiman - the Crown Prince of Qatar, and instead of Hurrem - Moza, the daughter of a prominent Qatari businessman.

At the age of 18, Moza received a “lucky ticket” - she met the future crown prince, but was in no hurry to marry him. First, she entered the University of Qatar to study psychology, then interned at prestigious American universities. And only then she got married. The woman, who is now called nothing less than the “gray eminence” of the Persian Gulf, devoted the first years of her family life to her children.

And Qatar at that time was not as influential a state in the Arab world as it is today. The situation changed in 1995. Then Moza’s husband carried out a bloodless coup and seized power in the country, overthrowing his own father. The coup was supported by the Anglo-Saxon world, people started talking about Qatar in connection with its oil and gas complex, and the new emir introduced the world to his second wife, the beautiful and educated Moza.

Sheikha Moza began to oversee humanitarian and charitable programs and increasingly appear in public in stunning outfits from the world's leading fashion houses

The sheikha wears both trousers and dresses that suit her figure. By the way, she is a fan of clothes from Ulyana Sergeenko

In Moza’s progressive images, as experts note, there is no hint of the true “fashion situation” in Qatar, where women wear abayas (floor-length black dresses), headscarves or niqabs (black headdresses that cover the entire face with a narrow slit for the eyes) - in general, like everywhere else in Arab countries. Moza wears only a turban, and in her free time she can walk around in pants.

Moza is also criticized in connection with Qatar's aggressive economic policies - the small country in the Persian Gulf is accused of dumping gas prices and trying to capture the maximum segment of the gas market around the world. In addition, Qatar sponsors radical groups around the world, which, of course, does not really fit with the sophisticated image of the sheikh.

Sheikha Moza and Prince Albert II of Monaco

Sheikha Mozah visiting George HW Bush and his wife Barbara

Moza with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Sheikha Mozah

Sheikha Moza, which is rare for the wives of rulers of other Gulf countries, has a number of government and international positions, including honorary ones: she is the head of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Social Development, president of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs; Vice President of the Supreme Council of Education; UNESCO Special Envoy. Moza created the Arab Democracy Fund, to which her husband made a first contribution of $10 million. The main goal of the foundation is to promote the development of free media and civil society.

Sheikha Moza is also the initiator of the creation of the Qatar Science and Technology Park, which opened at the end of 2008. The park has attracted 225 million investments, including from leading global companies such as Microsoft, Shell and General Electric. Moza built an “Education City” in the suburbs of Doha, the capital of Qatar, a university campus where leading professors from American universities give lectures to students.

Sheikha Mozah herself holds honorary doctorates from Virginia Commonwealth University, Texas A&M University, Carnegie Melon University, Imperial College London and Georgetown University. Since 2010 she has been a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Dame Commander with the Queen of Great Britain

Moza is 54 years old. Looks amazing. Someone estimated that she spent about $2 million on 12 plastic surgeries. Those who have had the opportunity to deal with the sheikh’s foundation admire her ability to work and determination, noting her perseverance, authority and - imagine! — feminism.

Moza accompanied her Sheikh on all official trips requiring the presence of the First Lady

It was one of Moza's five sons, Tamim, who became the heir of Sheikh Hamad, Moza's husband. And this is a very important touch to her portrait, because in addition to Moza, Hamad has two more wives, and the total number of his heirs is twenty-seven people. But it was Tamim who became the fourth ruler of Qatar last June, displacing his father. More precisely, the father himself, without revolutions or unrest, transferred the reins of government of the country into the hands of his son Moza.

After this, the influence that Moza has on her husband and, accordingly, on state affairs is legendary in Qatar.

And not only in Qatar. Moza was included in the list of 100 most powerful women in the world according to Forbes magazine. They even say that Sheikh Hamad married for the third time not out of passion, love or profit, but to spite Moza, to show that her power is not unlimited. But still, no other woman could take the place of Moza, who became an expert in diplomatic protocol and international etiquette and, apparently, found the “key” to the heart and mind of the sheikh, during whose reign little Qatar began to prosper.

And finally, a few words about Sheikha Moza’s project called Educate A Child (“Give an education to a child”). The fund was created under the patronage of Moza with the aim of financing and organizing primary education for children living in poor countries, as well as in zones of military conflicts (a total of 34 countries, including Chad, Bangladesh, Kenya).

Sheikha says: “Seeing with your own eyes how these children live is not at all the same as hearing or reading about them. (...) These children are forced to fight for the simplest human rights, for example, to study and live in normal conditions.

I assumed that schools might lack teachers or equipment. But these classrooms, you can’t even call them that! (...) Whatever we say and do, it will not be enough, but I want to create at least one school that will become a model, a standard. Children deserve it!”

Sheikha Moza is unique. But she is not the only woman in the Arab world who inspires admiration and surprise.