Maria Almesni .. Yemeni trip from the Canadian Parliament to the world of fashion

Israa Hussein

After years of studying political science, economics and labor in the Canadian Parliament, she decided to leave politics, moving lightly into the world of fashion and jewelry.

She was born in Moscow to a father who works in the diplomatic corps. Her father, Taha al-Mesni, is the foreign affairs adviser to the late President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

She returned to Yemen at the age of three until she moved to the United States to study at the age of 16. She did not choose a specialization, but was chosen to study military science at the University "Mercyhurst" because her country was suffering from the scourge of civil war, so she wanted to understand the subtleties of war, and what comes Effects on societies, how peace can be achieved and renunciation of conflicts and wars, her father encouraged her to specialize.

She soon decided to move to Canada to study economics at Carleton University because, in her view, people would not rise if countries did not have a solid economy, and their interest remained to return to their country to help revive the economy.

List of influencers in the Middle East
In 2012, she was chosen by CNN as one of the eight best people seeking change in the Middle East. "We were a Yemeni people touching government corruption and not promoting the economy. My male and female friends were urging young people in society to stand up to government corruption and demand change," she said. And look for jobs. "

"The government was not limited to looting the country's wealth, but any investment was limited to the family of Ali Saleh and his tribe. Job and investment opportunities were limited to them."

Its aim was to help young people demand change by communicating their voices to Western and American media, as well as to Al Jazeera, as well as defending women's rights against the idea of ​​forced marriage.

She revealed to Al Jazeera Net that when her father was working as an adviser to the late President - and before the death of her father in 2010 - showed him that the new generation born in Yemen - when he grows up and faces economic problems, unemployment and the inability to form a family - will revolt on the ruler.

From the Parliament of Fashion
“I worked as an administrative assistant in Parliament for almost two years,” she says of her experience in Canada, but she found the world of politics full of risks, so she preferred to go to another area where she found herself, moving to the world of fashion and jewelry design.

Maria explained that she studied this specialization by one of the international designers, and that her participation in the beauty pageants in 2010 was a coincidence where she had taken pictures with her friend when the husband of the latter took pictures of them. She said: We were joking and submitted a request to participate in the Miss World contest, and we attached the pictures with the request and my request was accepted, but I refused because I am Yemeni and wearing sea clothes does not fit our customs and traditions, so the organizers of the competition told her to agree to her condition, and allowed her to wear covergies over clothes She also won the Miss World title in the `` World's Nicest Girl '' competition in Canada in 2018.

International designs
Maria designed the jewelery for Miss Haiti this year, who participated in the Miss World contest, and she designed the jewelry and clothing of the opera show "Motrip Romeo" in cooperation with the Italian Embassy in Canada.

“I can't change the world, but I can change what I do to fit my qualifications and my dream that I want to achieve in the world of fashion,” she concludes.