In a recent exchange between myself and my fellow KABOBers, a divisive debate was sparked. Typed gasps were exchanged as were statements
questioning each others mental stability and capacity in judging human aesthetics. The debate initially began as a discussion over a recent poll taken by the Spanish paper 20 Minutos, known for its innovative approach to fighting patriarchy, on the the fairest women holding public office. The list is fairly yawn-inducing and even contentious given its alarming inclusion of current Secretary of State, eternal Presidential failure, Hilary Clinton. Most noticeably, especially to KABOBfest, four Israeli ministers also received shout-outs. Great. Cookie?
While such a poll is complete and utter shit and counterproductive for the advancement of women in politics and the general public realm, it struck me that no Middle Eastern or South Asian or African female politician made the list. There were a couple of Japanese politicians and one Indonesian, but I’m banking on the whole “Me love you long time” craze shit that has continued to persist for their inclusion. I mentioned, thus, to my fellow bloggers how I felt that perhaps one of the most attractive females within the public realm was Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s wife, Asma al-Assad. I mentioned, casually, in the same sentence that perhaps Rania should consider moving over. The KABOBers would not have any of this and most of them vehemently disagreed with me, stating that only in the “anorexic woman’s reality-contorted mind” could such a “skeletor” be found attractive.
The consensus thus seemed to be within the group that Queen Rania was, in fact, hotter than Asma al-Assad. As the usual shit-disturber, and in honour of Syria as our spotlight country, I have taken it upon myself to go against the grain and prove to you, the blogosphere audience, that Asma al-Asad is much hotter. You are also obligated to accept my opinion given that I am writing this blog post and you are not.
Jordanian Queen Rania “Social Media” al-Abdullah
are rarely unattractive. This is biased fact. And Queen Rania is no exception; she’s pretty damn haut. Sharp – slightly softened- features, darkened glowing eyes framed by dark thick professionally done brows, parallel to her dazzlingly royal smile – all of this topped off with her flowing dark brown locks and excellent fashion sense. Yeah, sizzle that throne.In addition to her physical beauty, The Queen is a social activist. She has taken it upon herself to start the worldwide revolution visa vis the growing influence of social media, in particular: YouTube. Her prime goal has been mending the clash of civilizations by increasing values of tolerance and similar shit through encouraging and increasing open ‘cross-cultural dialogue.’ She has used her eloquence and education, as well as her position, to do her part on fighting stereotypes and misrepresentations of Muslims and Arabs. Big ambitions for such a pretty bint.
Why is she not hot enough? Because she just wreaks of hypocrisy. As a friend of mine pointed out, she speaks outside of Jordan. Her target audience is primarily Western, and while she often discusses the problems in the general “Arab/Muslim World” she never discusses the problems rampant within Jordan itself. She’s brought up the issue of ‘honour killings’ but more so in an apparent lip-service side issue than anything much else. She is the Queen after all, and Parliament still has not done anything to treat such killings as seriously as other types of homicides. I don’t know man, if I were Queen I’d make sure that shit was taken care of like my French manicured nails.
There’s also something hokey and apologetic about her videos. Take this one for example in which she shows off her math skills and tries to gain some piety points while she’s at it. In the last video posted on her YouTube channel, she is being interviewed by a more-than-usual jerkface Wolf Blitzer (who seems to be in shock that Queen Rania is able to respond to his ignorance and bigotry). In it, she brings up the point that there needs to be a change in mentality in the Arab world in order for successful education for young girls. And yet, rather than reaching out to the Arabs she wishes would change – she settles for being an apologist and regurgitating facts and opinions already projectile vomited all over the ‘Western’ media post-9/11.
Additionally, I follow her on Twitter and have found her to be extremely self-centered and extremely lacking in grammar skills, with tweets such as “Excited by ur energy. My passion’s getting kids in2 school , I wnt it 2 be urs . 75m kids out of school. Wht cn WE do abt it?” I don’t give a shit if you’re only allowed 140 characters or if you’re a royal, bitches you best be using proper grammar at all times.
Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad
So, why is she hotter? I actually don’t know where to begin with this woman. Forget the elegant beauty and the sick sense of fashion. Forget all of that. The First Lady first caught my attention with this little appearance. I watched in complete awe – she was eloquent, intelligent, fierce, rational and also emotional. She was not commanding attention for herself but for the ‘barbaric’ invasion of Gaza and the plight of Palestinian women. Yeah, pretty hot. She wasn’t afraid to sound “too political” as opposed to Queen Rania, (Palestinian) Queen of one of Israel’s closest Arab allies, who appealed for help for Gazan children through UNICEF. While I’m not trying to diminish at all Rania’s efforts – rather, I applaud her for them – Asma just showed that she had bigger balls. And yeah, I think that’s 
pretty hot in an individual, quite honestly.
But it doesn’t end there. What I respect perhaps the most about Asma al-Assad are her efforts to better the lives of Syrians through economic and technological development. While she keeps a relatively low profile, she’s an extremely involved member of her society. She’s the founder of an NGO (although, is it really an NGO if she’s the founder? Think about it) known as the Fund for Integrated Rural Development in Syria also known as F.I.R.D.O.S. Thus, rather than focusing solely only on the importance of diplomatic finesse between two wrongly constructed civilizational faultlines, she has recognized that within her country there are problems which need to be not only addressed but worked upon; viable solutions must be found. She not only recognizes the importance of independent and sustainable economic development in Syrian villages and rural towns but also of the immediate importance of computer technology (she’s apparently qualified in computer science). Additionally, within her economic development activism, she has focused on the role of women in rural development and the role of women in commerce. Makes sense given that this First Lady’s previous job was as a J.P Morgan investment banker.
Ugh. So hot.
Also, she gets major points for getting hitched to this dude.
Damn, I'm amazed you managed to make an interesting post out of this question
Posted by yaman | May 23, 2009, 11:09 pmHello, how’s it going? Just shared this post with a colleague, we had a good laugh.Fashion
Posted by Fashion | December 17, 2012, 3:39 amNice Sana, nice. Assad is definitely hotter. Skeletor? Not really… and yes, Queen Rania is a bit too saccharine for me. What did it for was her flattering Prime Minister Brown at the Economic Forum… but it is kind of her role, diplomacy just annoys me…
Posted by Idil | May 24, 2009, 3:26 amp.s. that was the MOST awkward interview ever with Assad…. yeah right he's only into real stories… Putin said that same thing in an interview… I'm sure they all watch Disney movies on the low
Posted by Idil | May 24, 2009, 3:32 amHahahaha, after I saw Assad's interview I actually wondered how anyone could ever see him as a mad dictator. Definitely didn't take after his father. He's so adorable.
Posted by SanaKF | May 23, 2009, 11:59 pmI saw this by chance…………..I do not always check e mails. I was in Syria after so many years and am obsessed with how awsome Assad was and wife on youtube etc……….
Posted by alma | June 5, 2010, 11:50 pmEasier now though.
Posted by SanaKF | February 29, 2012, 7:54 pmIt's how I roll, Yaman, it's how I roll.
Posted by SanaKF | May 24, 2009, 4:00 amDude..seriously, what Yaman said! Although I want to go on record as saying Sana was not alone amongst the Kabobers who rated Asma higher than Rania. I hate Rania and her smarmy bullshit.
Posted by MohammadKF | May 24, 2009, 7:16 amI ran a quick fact-check and your above statement was, in fact, proven as false. My condolences. Source: Kfest thread dated May 3rd
Posted by SanaKF | May 24, 2009, 7:55 amIs it any wonder I'm going to wholeheartedly agree with you Sana, as well as jumping up, hugging you and punching the air in a crazed-lunatic style.
Posted by Sasa | May 24, 2009, 9:49 amOh my God. You basically took everything I thought about Queen Rania and wrote it down. I can't stand her western brown nosing and empty speech. God point on the twitter thing, too. She tries way too hard to be hip.
Posted by pp2006 | May 24, 2009, 1:49 pmThere were a couple of Japanese politicians and one Indonesian, but I'm banking on the whole "Me love you long time" craze shit that has continued to persist for their inclusion. Wow, that's really racist.
Posted by eagle007blogger | May 25, 2009, 1:03 amI wholeheartedly agree. Not only racist, but sexist. The use and propagation of the term "Me Love You Long Time" is indicative of a pro-infantile image of the Woman of the Orient – she is completely submissive, willing, dumb and childish in her demeanor and speech; she is ripe for conquest. Another proof of the persisting sexist colonialist rhetoric still thoroughly present within our societies and, in particular, our pop cultures. ; )
Posted by SanaKF | May 25, 2009, 2:15 amI don't find that funny at all. It's sad your finding humor in a trashy yet proud way. I'm Japanese and Arab and I can tell you, the way you describe the 'woman of the orient' is much more applicable to Arabs than Japanese.
Posted by Lena | February 18, 2010, 3:20 amI always strongly disliked her, but never bothered to really think about and articulate why… you just did it for me. Awesome!
Posted by Kamal | May 25, 2009, 2:46 amExcuse me, I am on team Asma too. I even run Facebook's official Asma Assad fan club, bitches.
Posted by JillianKF | May 25, 2009, 4:39 amYeah, in regards to the thread..i think only you and I were Team Asma. Mohammad made two comments about Hilary and the Israeli politicians and zipped out. Also, are you serious?
Posted by SanaKF | May 25, 2009, 5:15 amtheyre both wives of dictators who came to power by inheritance…
Posted by sunbula | May 25, 2009, 9:50 amYes, I'm serious. Friend me on Facebook and I'll send you an invite. Unless you're intimidated by my connections to your alter ego…
Posted by JillianKF | May 25, 2009, 12:12 pmLOL Rania stands above asmaa by far…….asmaa looks like GILLEY from saturday night live
Posted by farouk | May 25, 2009, 2:29 pmlool @ sunbula.
Posted by Lena | May 25, 2009, 9:35 pmand that's why they have a platform anyway, and if either of them is working on development issues, they're only allowed to because they're married to the dude in charge.
Posted by yaman | May 25, 2009, 9:48 pmexactly. such details matter not.
Posted by SanaKF | May 25, 2009, 11:12 pmI can only find your fanpage – friend me. same name as in my sig in my emails.
Posted by SanaKF | May 25, 2009, 11:13 pmOne more reason to admire the Syrian Ba'athists.
Posted by mauryk2 | May 29, 2009, 12:54 amسعر فستان من فساتين رانيا
بيطعموا الشعب الاردني جاج و رز اسبوع كامل
Posted by عقلة | December 10, 2009, 3:40 amal asma abu gaabi weyna
Posted by MOHAMMED abukar | March 23, 2010, 12:17 pmBiased much?
If you wanted to carry out an honest appraisal the least you could do is accurately compare the 2 women's work.
Rania has set up successful initiatives and projects like,
-Madrasati: Since its foundation in 2008 hundreds of Jordanian schools have benefited from the refurbishment program
-Madrasati Palestine: Concentrating on improving schools in East Jerusalem to beneift Palestinian children
-INJAZ: Founded INJAZ which helps young people improve their skills and is so successful that it is now found in other Arab countries too.
-Jordan River Foundation: The foundation provides financial assistance as well as dealing with domestic violence
-1Goal: In association with the World Cup and related to the MDGs
There are numerous other bodies but I@m not going to list them all for you.
Posted by Guest | July 7, 2010, 7:23 pmhow obnoxious u r …. vomit
Posted by Ludwig | June 7, 2011, 5:47 pmIs she hot, hotter, the hottest? You all make me want to puke! Who gives a f%&$# people!!! She’s a stupid, vacuous bitch, who as you know by now STANDS BY HER MAN, THE BUTCHER OF SYRIA!!! May he meet his maker soon!!! She, on the other hand will hold on as long as she can so she can continue to wear her bitch threads to impress all of the fools who have no lives!
Posted by zizine | February 7, 2012, 8:53 pmbut what does all this have to do with hotness ? neither of them is particularly hot, skeletal Rania even moreso.
Posted by Ghassan | April 11, 2012, 3:19 pmThe person who wrote this must be disgusted with this woman now. It does take a lot of balls for her to sit and watch her husband murder innocent women and children on a daily basis
Posted by Kim | April 21, 2012, 2:09 am