Rula Ghani
First Lady of Afghanistan from 2014 to 2021
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rula F. Saadah Ghani[1][2] (nickname: Bibi Gul;[3] born 1948) is a former first lady of Afghanistan and wife of former president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani.[4]
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1948 (77 age)
Afghanistan
United States
Rula Ghani | |
|---|---|
| رولا غنى | |
Ghani in 2014 | |
| First Lady of Afghanistan | |
| In role 29 September 2014 – 15 August 2021 | |
| President | Ashraf Ghani |
| Preceded by | Zeenat Karzai |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rula F. Saadah 1948 (77 age) |
| Citizenship | Lebanon Afghanistan United States |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, including Mariam |
| Alma mater | Sciences Po University, Paris American University of Beirut Columbia University |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Nickname(s) | بی بی گُل Bibi Gul |
In 2015, Rula Ghani was named to the Time 100, a list of the world's most influential people, by Time magazine.[5]
Personal life
Rula Ghani was born Rula Saade or Roula Saadé[6] and raised in Lebanon, in a Lebanese Maronite Christian family. She received a diploma from Sciences Po, France, in 1969.[7][8][9] She completed a master's degree in Political Studies from the American University of Beirut in 1974, where she had met her future husband, Ashraf Ghani.[10]
The couple married in 1975 and have two children: a daughter, Mariam Ghani, a Brooklyn-based visual artist,[11] and a son, Tariq. Rula Ghani earned another master's degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York City in 1983. She returned to Afghanistan in 2003.[12]
Ghani holds citizenship in Afghanistan, Lebanon, and the United States.[3][13] She reportedly speaks Arabic, English, French, Pashto and Dari.[14]
Since 2014
At his presidential inauguration in 2014 Ghani publicly thanked his wife, acknowledging her with an Afghan name, Bibi Gul.[10] "I want to thank my partner, Bibi Gul, for supporting me and Afghanistan," said President Ghani, looking emotional. "She has always supported Afghan women and I hope she continues to do so."[15][16] Historian Ali A Olomi argued in 2017 that, following the precedent of Afghanistan's Queen Soraya, Rula Ghani could help bring real change for women's rights in the country.[17]
As First Lady, Ghani was an advocate for women's rights.[18]
On 15 August 2021, Ghani fled from Afghanistan with her husband, children, and two close aides as the Taliban captured Kabul; the Arg, the Afghan presidential palace, was captured a few hours later by the Taliban.[19][20] On 18 August 2021, the government of the United Arab Emirates said that the Ghani family were in their country.[21]