Queen Rania Honored in Rome

Queen Ranis’s Italian wardrobe included a Giorgio Armani Privé gown.Her Majesty Queen Rania on Wednesday received the Marisa Bellisario Golden Apple International Award in recognition of her humanitarian work, dedication to peace and lasting commitment to the rights of women and children around the world.

The honor was presented to Queen Rania in Rome, before an audience over 300 political and business leaders gathered at the Montecitorio Palace in Rome, seat of the Italian chamber of deputies.

In addressing her audience, Queen Rania focused on the importance of education for the world’s women.  

“The greater the number of women with economic power the stronger the foundations of society will be,” she said, citing that women would be responsible for some 3.5 billion euros (about 5.3 billion U.S. dollars) of new global revenue over the next five years.

Queen Rania emphasized along with women’s success stories, is the undeniable fact that “millions of others are cut off from the working world and their chances of expressing themselves are denied.”

“They are condemned to living half a life,” Rania explained, adding that “in the Arab world our women know this situation well. “

Chamber of Deputies Speaker Gianfranco Fini praised the Jordanian Queen for supporting the Middle East peace process and the United Nations Millennium poverty targets as well as being “a protagonist not only in Jordan world but also in the wider world of relations between the West and Islam.”

Queen Rania wore an unusual silk crepe gown by Stephane Rolland in ivory, featuring a cape and a tie at the waist that finished in gold tassels.photos via Hellomagazine.comEarlier in the week, Queen Rania and King Abdullah’s daughter Imam, recently 13, joined her mother in a visit to Rome’s famous Borghese Gallery. The couple has three other children: Hussein, 15, Salma, nine, and Hashem, four.

via Hellomagazine.com