Lebanese women conquer abroad, suffer at home

The actor George Clooney’s marriage to British-Lebanese lawyer Amal Alamuddin is not the first time the world has been preoccupied with a Lebanese woman. A few days ago, the entire Islamic world, especially Afghanistan, was buzzing with news of another such woman: Roula Saade, wife of the new Afghani president, Ashraf Ghani. A Lebanese Christian is now the first lady of Afghanistan, a predominantly Muslim country with a population of 32 million.

The local and international media are intrigued by Saade's past. It turns out that Ghani had met her at the American University of Beirut, where she had began studying anthropology in 1969. Fouad Saade, Roula’s brother and a prominent Marxist, was tutoring the Afghani student who would later succeed Hamid Karzai as president. That is the short version of how Roula Saade became the first lady of Shash Darak Palace in Kabul, a Greek Orthodox woman from Koura, north of Lebanon, and mother of two: Mariam (whose name is common among Christians and Muslims) and Tareq.

Some two years ago, the media was fascinated with Aline Skaff, the wife of Hannibal Gadhafi, son of Moammar Gadhafi, who ruled Libya from 1969 until his overthrow and death in 2011. Skaff as well is a Greek Orthodox Christian from Lebanon. She was born in the village of Munjez in Akkar, on the northern border with Syria. She had worked as a model and was known for posting revealing photos on the web before she became famous for marrying Hannibal. She ignited the Lebanese world with the news of her moving back to Lebanon after the toppling of her father-in-law’s regime.

Social media is now abuzz with the likes of Daniella Semaan, who left her millionaire Lebanese husband and began dating Cesc Fabregas, the Spanish professional soccer player. Her social status would not be enough for the media to be constantly interested in her if it weren't for her nonstop posting of pictures and news about her previous and current personal life.