Lolowah bint Faisal Al Saud (also spelled Loulwa; ar, لولوة الفيصل آل سعود, Lūluwah Al Fayṣal Āl Suʿūd; born 1948) is a daughter of King
Faisal of Saudi Arabia
Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, فيصل بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود ''Fayṣal ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', Najdi Arabic pronunciation: ; 14 April 1906 – 25 March 1975) was a Saudi Arabian statesman and diplomat who was ...
and
Iffat Al Thunayan
Iffat bint Mohammad Al Thunayan ( ar, عفت بنت محمد الثنيان ''ʿIffat bint Moḥammad Āl Ṯunayān'', tr, İffet bint Muhammed es Saniyan; 1916 – 17 February 2000) was a Turkish-born education activist and Saudi princess wh ...
. She is considered one of the most publicly visible female members of the
Saudi royal family
The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi state (1727–1818), an ...
.
She is a prominent activist for
women's education
Female education is a catch-all term of a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education (primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, and health education in particular) for girls and women. It is frequently called girls ...
and other social issues in Saudi Arabia.
Biography
Lolowah bint Faisal was one of nine children of King Faisal and Iffat Al Thunayan. Her mother, Iffat, was born to a
Turkish family. She was brought up in a palace in
Ta’if
Taif ( ar, , translit=aṭ-Ṭāʾif, lit=The circulated or encircled, ) is a city and governorate in the Makkan Region of Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat M ...
. Like Faisal's other children, she was educated abroad, and attended high school in
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
, Switzerland.
She married one of her cousins,
Saud bin Abdul Muhsin, with whom she had three children, but divorced after ten years.
Princess Lolowah's cousin,
Faisal bin Musaid, assassinated her father in March 1975, when Lolowah was 27.
Women's issues
Princess Lolowah has dedicated her life to improving the
welfare of women in Saudi Arabia, especially in the field of education. She has been a member of the Al Nahdah Philanthropic Society for Women in Riyadh since 1970. From 1990 to 1999, she assisted her mother, Queen Iffat in supervising the Dar Al Hanan School in Jeddah, the first private female high school in Saudi Arabia. Along with her mother and siblings, she helped found Effat College (now
Effat University
Effat University ( ar, جامعة عفّت) is a private non-profit institution of higher education for men and women in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, operating under ...
) in 1999.
Lolowah was involved in all the phases of the college's founding, from raising funds, developing the curriculum, overseeing construction to the hiring of faculty and staff.
She serves as the university's vice chair of the Board of Founders and Board of Trustees, and general supervisor.She allowed herself to be photographed by Western media for the first time in 2005.
During a public session at the 2007 World Economic Forum, Lolowah spoke out against the ban on driving for women in Saudi Arabia.
In addition to advocating more rights for Saudi women, she also works against misconceptions about women in Saudi Arabia that exist in the West. She insists Muslim women are accorded equal rights but not necessarily the same rights as men.
Representing Saudi Arabia
Princess Lolowah has also represented Saudi Arabia at various international forums. She served as a member of the Committee of International Trade of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industries. In 2006, she led a delegation of Saudi businesswomen to
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
.
She has participated in Saudi trade missions abroad, accompanying senior Saudi royal family members on diplomatic travels.
Lolowah has given many speeches worldwide on the advancement of Muslim women. She is a member of the summit agenda of the
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
and participated in the forum's sessions. During the 2008 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in
Davos
, neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch
, twintowns =
}
Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alpine resort town and a municipality in the Prättigau/Davos R ...
, she presented the working session "What Kind of Education for What Kind of World?", delivering a speech focusing on the philosophy of education. She was the keynote speaker at the London Middle East Institute Conference at the
School of Oriental and African Studies
SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 2003.
At home, she is a board member of the
King Faisal Foundation
The King Faisal Foundation ( ar, مؤسسة الملك فيصل الخيرية; ''KFF''), is an international philanthropic organization established in 1976 with the intent of preserving and perpetuating King Faisal bin Abdulaziz's legacy. The fo ...
.
Like her father King Faisal, Princess Lolowah speaks fluent English and French in addition to her native Arabic.
Honours
In 2009, Princess Lolowah received an honorary degree from
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States.
...
,
.
She also spoke at the commencement ceremony. Mount Holyoke College played a consultative role in the founding of Effat University.
Ancestry
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saud, Lolowah Faisal
Lolowah
Lolowah
1948 births
Lolowah
Lolowah
Living people
Lolowah