As I draft my first editor’s letter, a tear slips down my face. Classic Nancy. Tears come easily when I pause to reflect on the beauty of my life and how far I’ve travelled, both literally and metaphorically.
I grew up in New York City, and didn’t have the means or even the permission to travel to the next city. Now, I’ve moved across the world on my own. I went from living under constant censorship, ironically in the West, to cultivating creative freedom as Acting Deputy Editor of Cosmopolitan Middle East.
Gratitude washes over me, often translating into tears. Unfortunately for me, that meant crying in front of Milli, our Director, in my first week at Cosmo (lols). They were tears of joy from being trusted to tell stories with nuance and splendour. My artistic direction is deeply rooted in my identity as a Bangladeshi Muslim woman, carrying forward Cosmo’s legacy of pioneering journalism for forward-thinking women.
Here in the UAE, where 88.5% of the population are expats, Indians make up the largest group, with Bangladeshis close behind. I thought of that when I met Padma, a woman from Kolkata, at the Five Senses nail salon. A language barrier sat between us, but it dissolved quickly. We shared Bollywood tracks, giggled about boys, and bonded over moving to Dubai in search of opportunity. When she apologised for her English, I placed my hand over my heart. She smiled, and at that moment, we transcended language and spoke the dialect of global girlhood. I nearly cried again as she massaged my hands with such care.
My humble flex is that I’ve cried all over the world. Global girlhood continues to inspire me to write, and this issue is a reflection of that sisterhood. The Cosmo ME GLOBAL ISSUE is a tribute to women everywhere and to the earth we respect. In these pages, we celebrate beauty through a landscape palette shaped by the world. We unlock our inner child, sync with our cycles, and level up spiritually through money, mountaineering, egg freezing, or owning our passenger princess era. You’ll also find profiles of bold women, from cover star Yara Mustafa to the first Miss Palestine Nadeen Ayoub, multifaceted Jenna Ortega, rising It-girl group KATSEYE, and more.
The global woman is unafraid. She evolves, dismantles comfort, and grows in uncertainty. She advocates for herself and her community, is financially savvy, intuitive, and fiercely loving. Most importantly, she fights for humanity.
I reserve the right to fly, love, dance, pray, write, and cry around the world. But flying is a privilege, and not everyone has that freedom. A global mindset means asking why. Why are some free to move and dream while others are not?
To my dear Cosmo ME readers, wherever you are, thank you for engaging with my vision of global womanhood. This is my visceral urge to join me in the pursuit of global girlhood.
Feeling nostalgic, check out the previous Editor’s Letter here.