Laila Ali, our new First Lady - how are we going to see her?

It’s a little too early to say the role our new first lady Laila Ali is going to play in our ‘aneh dhivehiraajje’. So far, I must say, she has done and outstanding job successfully staying out of the limelight – that’s in spite of the continuous barrage of criticisms and vituperative remarks (what’s the English equivalent of Auguraanu?) that were so much a part of her husband’s life throughout the last three months of the intense campaign period. I’m sure the young mother of two must have been so relieved. But now, as the new first lady of the country, she has been catapulted, albeit involuntarily, into public life, and I, for one person, expect her to assume an important role in serving her people alongside her husband. I have to admit I have never met or talked to Laila Ali, but the people I have talked to all say that she has the intelligence, wit, and of course, the looks (was President Mohamed Ameen ever married to Baarashu Ramla? ask your grandpa), to outshine all our former first ladies. So, the question that begs to be asked is, are we going to see her, in her public life, as someone like our ex-first ladies Nasreena or Naseema? Or are we going to see her as our answer to Jordan’s Queen Rania?

Nasreena, our first lady for the last 30 years, although seemingly introvert in character, is believed to have wielded great influence in the corridors of power. In public life, the seemingly unassuming, bambi-eyed first lady is known more through her association with SHE and the NGOs work in the health sector, particularly in Thalasemia and Women's Health.

The first lady that most of us knew during President Nasir’s govt was Naseema Mohamed. The soft-spoken, petite and beautiful lady is still in public service - long after President Nasir is gone. Although a nurse by training, she is known more for the work she has done in the area of linguistic and historical research. Mariyam Saeed, the senior wife of President Nasir, also left her mark quite successfully in the Maldivian literary scene as one of the most accomplished poets of her time.

I googled up for interesting first ladies and here’s my picks - among international scene and the Arab-Islamic world (for the simple reason that we group ourselves with them, mostly).

Hillary Clinton – obviously, one of the first that comes to mind - but I don’t know if the world now remembers her as an American first lady, Barrack Obama’s opponent in the recent democratic race, Senator Clinton or the lady who forced the most powerful man in the world to sleep in the garage in the aftermath of Lewinsky affair. She is powerful, elegant, confident and unyielding in all the different roles we saw her in. Looks like, Michelle Obama, as the US first lady in waiting, has a tough act to follow. (I conveniently forgot that primate W’s wife!)

Queen Rania of Jordan, counted by Forbes Magazine among the 100 most powerful women in the world is a rare combination of sheer beauty, intelligence and political power. Born to Palestinian parents and educated at American University in Cairo, she is known for her role in philanthropy, advocacy for women’s rights and in clarifying misconceptions about Islam.

Carla Bruni, the first First Lady to have nude pictures posted on the Internet who is said to have said she easily gets “bored with monogamy”, is arguably the sexiest of them all but she hasn’t so far been seen as too keen on assuming any of the traditional roles of first ladies.

Asma al-Assad of Syria is beautiful, quick-witted, and intelligent. Married in 2000, to Bashar al-Assad, she has worked and supported programs designed to improve rural development including capacity building of communities and promoting local culture and heritage.