- Your Highness, a lot
of young girls dream about marrying a Prince and being a
princess...
Was it one of your dreams ? From your experience, what would you
tell a young girl with such a dream ?
- It's a fairytale dream that many girls have at a very young
age but when real life sets in it is quickly shelved aside as an
unrealistic fantasy. I honestly don't remember if as a child I
thought that way, but as an adult I can tell you that as far as
marriage was concerned my dream was to find someone who would be
caring and dedicated both as a husband and as a father. When I met
Abdullah, he exceeded all my expectations and I can sincerely say
that I would have married him regardless of his position.
So I suppose my answer to the second part of your question is that
there is nothing wrong with dreaming as long as it relates to what is
fundamentally important in oneís life.
-We are almost in the
year 2000, what does it mean to be a Princess today ?
- You know, gone are the days when royalty was mostly about
glamour and authority, today royals are expected to get with the
times. In Jordan, as is the case in many countries, we believe in
actively implementing the concept that the royal family is there to
serve the country and its people. I personally do not think that
getting married to a prince and having the title of "princess"
bestowed on me overnight makes me deserving of it. It is something I
feel I should earn by contributing positively to society.
- You have people
working in your house, you have bodyguards when you are in town. Do
you still manage to have a private life and private moments for you,
your husband and your children ?
- My husband and I much prefer casual settings and often go
around unaccompanied by guards. We have a very fulfilling private
life and we share many precious moments as a family. From time to
time, however, I do feel I have to make a conscious effort to secure
family time given our hectic schedules. As far as our staff is
concerned, many of them have been with us for a long time and we
truly feel that they contribute to our family life as opposed to
intruding on it.
-In what way do you
bring up you children as Prince and Princess ? They go to
school, do their friends know who they are ?
- I try my best to bring up my children Hussein and Iman in a
very relaxed and loving environment. We have tons of fun together and
are more concerned about our latest Teletubies video than we are
about etiquette. As for their friends knowing who they are, Iman's
preschool friends hardly know the difference between a boy and a
girl, and Hussein's friends are too busy comparing their height and
the size of their muscles.
- Among the Jordanian
Royal Family, you are quite active in associations and charities
work. Would you say being a Princess is a "full time job" ?
- It's difficult to describe being a princess as a job. The
title does, however, allows me to explore many avenues and sometimes
gives me the opportunity to actively get involved in some very
meaningful causes. I devote a great deal of my time at Jordan River
Foundation, a non-profit organization that I helped establish a few
years ago. There I oversee several income-generating as well as
micro-credit projects that were established to improve the living
standards of some of the underprivileged segments of our society. The
foundation is also an umbrella for several other projects related to
children; the most prominent of them, and the one closest to my heart
is Jordan River Children : a project that addresses the problem
of child abuse in Jordan.
- How important is this
charity work to you ?
- It is very important to me. Having studied business
administration I feel that my work at Jordan River Foundation has
allowed me to apply many of the managerial and financial concepts
that I had learned at university to the projects that I am now
overseeing. Besides I regard my work as my way of giving back to
society.
- You just mentioned
the child abuse prevention program, a first of its kind in the
country and to some extent in the region. Can you explain why it is
very important to you ?
- Projects that are related to children have always caught my
attention. I feel very much at ease when I'm around children and I am
able to connect with them very easily. Children are the most
sensitive and intelligent creatures on earth and they should be
treated with utmost respect. I became aware of a few cases of
maltreatment of children through staff members that work in different
projects of the foundation. Knowing that abuse exists in every
society in the world, I felt compelled to do something about it in
Jordan. Jordan River Children is still at its onset, but it aims to
tackle the problem in a comprehensive manner with prevention as its
primary objective.
- Do you find it
difficult to explain these ideas in Jordan ?
- When publicly addressing the issue, I am often confronted
with the most predictable reaction of any society and that is denial.
It is considered a social taboo to discuss the hidden crime of child
abuse. What really gave our project momentum was the fact that His
Majesty had on several occasions publicly referred to the problem. He
made it clear that child welfare is high up on his agenda and urged
officials to do their utmost to secure a safe and healthy environment
in which our children can thrive. Owing to her sincere interest in
children's affairs, Queen Noor is a constant source of support and
inspiration.
- As child abuse
prevention is a new topic in Jordan, have you tried to benefit from
the experience of others ?
- Yes, in fact last year the managers of the project and I
visited several organizations in the U.K. that work in the same
field. I also attended a conference in Spain and we are constantly in
touch with our counterparts all over the world. The exchange of
information and ideas is an integral part of any child abuse
prevention program.
-What has been the
greatest challenge that the project has presented thus far ?
- The project is challenging in many ways. In order to
deliver a comprehensive solution to a child we have realized that a
multidisciplinary approach involving the government, police force as
well as non-governmental organizations must be adopted. Trying to
harness the efforts of these different bodies and translating them
into policies and procedures on the ground has not been an easy task.
The biggest challenge of all, however, has been to try and secure the
funds necessary to make this a sustainable long-term
project.
- You are a "modern"
princess, quite different from the idea of an "oriental" princess;
you wear jeans, drive your car... How do people you see, veiled women
for instance look at you ?
- Perhaps the concept of an oriental princess only exists in
the minds of outsiders. Jordanian society does not conform to a given
set of rules for dress or conduct, but is composed of a healthy
mixture of backgrounds and beliefs. I am constantly interacting with
people of all walks of life and have never felt that my style has
built barriers or has been a cause for intimidation. Nor am I the
only "modern" princess in the family; almost all the other members of
the family adopt a very practical and moderate lifestyle.
-HRH Prince Abdullah is
very much into "dangerous activities", whether in the Special Forces
or in sports like car racing or sky diving.. Don't you worry about
him ?
- I would not be completely honest with myself if I said that
I did not worry. However, it is reassuring to know that Abdullah is a
trained professional who takes all necessary precautions when he is
involved in dangerous activities. At the end of the day we all need
to have faith in God and surrender to his will.
- Would you like Prince
Hussein and Princess Iman to keep away from these
activities ?
- I'll worry about that when the time comes. Hussein and Iman are
still very young and at this point in time I prefer not to imagine
them engaging in such activities. However, given my husband's
military background and his influential and affectionate relationship
with the children, I feel that it is only a matter of time before I
will have to confront this dilemma.
- Would you like to be
more involved in political life ?
- I must say that my constant interaction with the royal
family, the government and parliamentary officials means that I am
not far removed from the world of politics.
