Zein al-Sharaf bint Jamil

Zein al-Sharaf bint Jamil (زين الشرف بنت جميل; 2 August 1916 – 26 April 1994) was Queen of Jordan as the wife of King Talal.

She was the mother of King Hussein.

She was born in Alexandria, Egypt, into a family of Hejazi and Turkish Cypriot origin.

Her mother was Wijdan Hanim, the daughter of Shakir Pasha, who was the grandnephew of the Ottoman-Turkish Cypriot Governor of Cyprus Kâmil Pasha.

Her father, Sharif Jamil bin Nasser, was the governor of Hauran; he was the nephew of Sharif Hussein bin Ali of Mecca.

Her paternal aunts were Musbah bint Nasser and Huzaima bint Nasser.

Zein married her first cousin Prince Talal bin Abdullah of Jordan on 27 November 1934, with whom she had four sons and two daughters:

She also created the first women's union of Jordan in 1944.

Following the arrival of Palestinian refugees into Jordan after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, she led national relief efforts to help the tens of thousands of refugees.

She was also instrumental in establishing the women's branch of the Jordan National Red Crescent Society in 1948.

Throughout her life, Queen Zein dedicated time and energy to the Um Al Hussein orphanage in Amman.

Queen Zein played a major role in the political development of the Jordanian Kingdom in the early 1950s, by supporting efforts in charitable works and women's rights.

Queen Zein further filled a constitutional vacuum after the assassination of the late King Abdullah I in 1951, while the newly proclaimed King Talal was being treated outside the Kingdom.

She took part in the writing of the 1952 Constitution that gave certain rights to women and enhanced the social development of the country.

The Queen again performed this role during the period between August 1952, when her son, King Hussein, was proclaimed monarch, and May 1953, when he assumed constitutional duties at the age of eighteen.