Her Highness Sheikha Boudour Al Qasimi doesn’t want to be “the only woman in the room” as she breaks boundaries in publishing and fashion
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Credit: Courtesy Her Excellency Sheikha Bodor
Her Highness Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi is not content with sidelining women. The UAE-based Shahi, daughter of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, has broken down barriers for women in the publishing world – and she’s now turning to fashion. talking to marie claireSheikha Bodour says she “realized there was a lot of work to do, especially in the Arab world, in terms of leveling the playing field for women in business”.
Sheikha Bodour founded her own publishing company, Kalimat GroupTwo decades ago his children “didn’t really like books read in Arabic and wanted something more interesting.” Her Majesty tells marie claire After becoming the second female president of the International Publishers Association (IPA), she “realized that there were very few women in leadership positions in the industry”.
Sheikha Bodour shares that while “there are a lot of women in publishing in general,” they work on the “more creative side” like design and PR versus taking on leadership roles. She adds that in her role as president of the IPA, “in many cases I was the only woman in the room.”
Sheikha Bodour launched it. Credit: Courtesy Her Excellency Sheikha Bodor
For Sheikha Bodour, it inspired her to launch PublishShare, a global platform to empower women in the industry through networking events, mentorship opportunities and an awards program.
“During my conversations with publishers, I learned that men always have a network and we don’t have a network like women do,” she says. marie claire. “So I started organizing dinners at book fairs, events, to bring women together so they can get to know each other, learn from each other, and give each other opportunities.”
Sheikha Bodour is a writer herself, and in her latest work, Let them know she’s here: searching for the Queen of MleihA, the royal goes in search of Arab queens of the past who have been largely erased from history. She says her goal with the book was to “spark the light in women to really look at history, and learn about what’s happened in the past and use it as a jumping off point for the future.”
Sheikha Bodor models a dress from her new fashion brand Inanna Reborn. | Credit: Courtesy Her Excellency Sheikha Bodor
Let them know she’s here: looking for the Queen of Mleiha
Asked if she sees parallels between these historical queens and the struggles of women today, Sheikha Bodour says there are many parallels. “Yes, I think it’s all very connected and I think women in general are reclaiming their place and their rightful position in society,” she says. “I think that as women, we are reclaiming that rightful place that maybe was taken away from us in the past.”
Another area that Sheikha Boudour is reclaiming for women is the fashion industry. She says that her new fashion brand, inanna rebornClosely connected to these lost queens she writes about. The brand held its inaugural fashion show on April 4 in Mleiha National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is connected to the traditions and stories in her book.
she tells marie claire that when he started researching queens tell them she’s theirsE, she also looked at “what they would wear and how they would look.” This includes everything from “jewelry and incense” to “perfumes, and rituals, and everything else they were doing.”
From there, Sheikha Bodor began designing a collection that paid homage to the spirit of these queens—but was appropriate for today’s woman. Clothing and jewelry collections currently available fodder alowalThe restaurant and cultural destination launched by His Highness in Sharjah, and will soon be available online.
Sheikha Bodour (center) joins models on stage during Inanna Reborn’s first runway show. | Credit: Courtesy Her Excellency Sheikha Bodor
Inanna Reborn includes jewelery as well as clothing. | Credit: Courtesy Her Excellency Sheikha Bodor
“The way we talk about the brand, it’s important that women feel like clothes are like armour,” she says. “I always say fashion is like armour. They put it on and they go out into the world and that’s how they walk into the world, with their heads held high and feeling very confident about themselves.”
Sheikha Bodour says fashion is an industry that can “make women feel less worthy” and she aims to overcome this. “I want to be in an industry that makes women feel amazing,” she shares. “I want a woman to feel like she looks great, no matter her size, no matter what her age.”
Her Majesty adds, “I’m not going to follow trends or do things the way the fashion industry encourages you to do. I really want to create this organically and really make it empowering women.”
Sheikha Bodour’s entrepreneurial spirit is already spreading to the next generation. Their 7-year-old daughter, Sheikha Mira bint Sultan Al Qasimi, also has her own budding business – a fashion brand for young women called Mira and Aliya. Their latest collection is inspired by the children’s classic the tiger who came to drink teaAnd with Sheikha Bodour paving the way, the sky is the limit.
