“Let Them Know She Is Here” by H. H. Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi Launched at the Sharjah Book Fair

There are launches, and then there are moments—moments when a book ceases to be just paper and ink and instead becomes something alive, pulsing with history, spirit, and ancestral resonance. At this year’s Sharjah International Book Fair, Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi offered exactly such a moment with the unveiling of her new work, Let Them Know She Is Here: Searching for the Queen of Mleiha.

This was not a ceremonial presentation. It felt like a reclamation. A homecoming. A lifting of veils from a past too often silenced beneath centuries of shifting dunes.

A Book That Breathes With the Desert

Bodour’s voice in this book is unguarded, elemental—rooted as deeply in the UAE’s earth as the archaeological sites she visits. Early in the text, she writes:

“This book is not just a story. It is a spell, an invocation, a sacred weaving of memory and myth… As I unravel my roots, I unravel my soul.”

This is where the power lies: in the merging of vulnerability with scholarship. In her willingness to let personal memory walk beside historical narrative.

Two Currents, One Journey

Her narrative moves along twin pathways:

The inner path

A reflective exploration of identity, belonging, and the invisible threads that tie us to our ancestors.

The historical path

A meticulously researched chronicle of the ancient Arabian queens whose presence once shaped the region—women whose authority was minted on Abiel coins and etched into the consciousness of pre-Islamic civilizations.

Through Bodour’s eyes, readers witness the reopening of a chapter of history where women did not stand behind thrones—they sat upon them.

Queens of Sand, Moonlight, and Sovereignty

Within the pages, figures like Zenobia, the Queen of Sheba, the Moon Queens of Saba, and Queen Shams step forward with renewed clarity. These women were strategists, warriors, rulers—leaders who wrote their stories into the geography of the ancient world.

Bodour crosses deserts and mountains to follow their echoes, crafting a cartography of feminine power that stretches across time.

Between Reality and Myth, A Bridge

Perhaps the book’s greatest triumph is the seamless blending of personal narrative with collective memory. The boundary between history and mythology softens—not to obscure facts, but to illuminate a deeper emotional truth: that identity is a dialogue between what is remembered, what is discovered, and what is imagined.

In that dialogue, Bodour positions herself not only as a researcher, but as an inheritor of the stories buried beneath the sands of Mleiha.

Why Her Story Matters

In a world still grappling with how women’s roles are documented—and often diminished—this book acts as both corrective and tribute. It insists that Arab women have always been central to the region’s story. It calls us to re-evaluate the histories we inherit and the silences we accept.

Beyond its historical contribution, Let Them Know She Is Here inspires a deeper reflection:

To know where we are going, we must understand where we come from.

To understand ourselves, we must listen to the women who came before us.

Bodour’s journey is not solely about uncovering a queen. It is about uncovering a lineage of strength that continues to shape the Gulf—and the world.

And in telling these stories, she ensures that every forgotten queen, every silenced ancestor, can finally be heard.

Source: WAM

Photo: HH Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi FB