Women's literary salons and societies in the Arab World
Encyclopedia
The tradition of women's literary circles in the Arab World dates back to the pre-Islamic period when the eminent literary figure, Al-Khansa
, would stand in the 'Ukaz market in Mecca
, reciting her poetry and airing her views on the scholarship of others. From this, a culture of literary criticism emerged among Arab women, and under the Umayyad dynasty, Sukaynah Bint Al-Husayn established the first literary salon in her home. The tradition was revived during the late nineteenth century, as a result of sweeping social, political and economic change within the Ottoman Empire
and Europe's increasing political and cultural influence in the region. The initial pioneers of the Arab salon were women from wealthy families in Greater Syria
and Egypt
, who returned influenced by interaction with European women during their time spent studying abroad and frequenting Paris
ian salons, or studying in schools run by European or American missionaries. The salon
evenings, run by women but attended by both men and women, provided a unique opportunity to have discussions about social, political and literary trends of the day. Though the tradition died out somewhat after the Second World War, it has left a lasting legacy on literary culture and women's issues throughout the Arab World. Indeed, more than one hundred years later, the UN Arab Human Development Report
echoes what many people in Arab societies were coming to realise at that time: "An Arab Renaissance cannot be accomplished without the rise of women in Arab countries."
from the Mashreq (Greater Syria) to the Maghreb
(North Africa). These trends were largely attributable to the increased European presence in the region and their secular ideas of modernity
.
At a societal level, the arrival of Christian
missionaries supported by the European and American governments led to the creation of a formal system of education for girls, who had until this period received little or no education. Initially, this took the form of private institutions attracting wealthy and mostly Christian families. However, as these schools became more socially acceptable and affordable, the idea trickled down to the middle classes before finally reaching out to the poor. Thus, a new norm was becoming increasingly prevalent; the idea that girls should receive an education so as to afford them better marriage prospects, and more importantly, to provide them with adequate means in which to educate their children. At this point in time, the range of subjects offered to women was limited. However women seized these opportunities to learn, and showed admirable drive and determination. By the middle of the century, a sense of "...awareness and obligation for intellectual and social consciousness, especially the appreciation of women's plight, and the struggle for a voice in society became visible and public." A notable example of the contribution of Western missionaries to increasing educational opportunities for women was the work of Daniel and Abby Maria Bliss, an American couple who moved to Beirut
in 1866 and subsequently set up the Syrian Protestant College (which later became the American University of Beirut
). In 1905, a nursing programme that accepted applications from women was established, and in 1924, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences opened its doors to female students.
The rumblings of reform taking place within Ottoman
society reached the Sultanate, and were eventually echoed at an institutional level. The Ottoman regime, in order to counteract the threat of political and religious influence from the Christian missionary schools and due to the realisation that the empire could not hope to survive without learning the modern natural sciences, began to implement its own reforms (tanzimat). According to the Arab historian, Eugene Rogan, the reforms introduced by the Sultanate had little effect on the subjects of the empire. However, by the 1850s and 1860s, the fruits of reform were visible in the daily life.
The third (and arguably the most important) current that led to the existence and improvement of women's education in the nineteenth and early twentieth century was due to European colonialism
and its legacy. Napoleon's short-lived occupation of Egypt (1798–1801) was relatively unsuccessful by French standards. However, their revolutionary ideas and imports in the field of technology and education were to prove more durable in Egypt and the rest of North Africa. Under the leadership of Muhammad 'Ali, an admirer of French innovation and technology, interactions and exchanges between Egypt
and France
in the cultural, academic and scientific fields increased during his reign Indeed, it was not just male students who spent time abroad. Notable Arab hostesses or salonnières such as Mayy Ziyadah spent time in France, and the Egyptian feminist and occasional hostess of salon evenings, Huda Sha'rawi, used to grant scholarships to writers enabling them to study in Europe at her own expense. Ideas of educational reform and feminism were also occurring elsewhere in the Arab world, with the Syrian writer and scholar, Butrus al-Bustani (1819–1883) in Lebanon among the first to advocate women’s right to education in 1847. Two decades later in Tunisia, the reformist, Ahmed Kheireddine, stressed the importance of women's education in the running of households and raising children. This was a small, but crucial step in the emancipation of women in society. Later in Egypt, after the British took over from the French in their 'civilising mission' of Egypt they also contributed to the reform of women's education. In his work entitled, Modern Egypt, Lord Cromer, who had served for almost thirty years as High Commissioner of Egypt
, "...by confining the sphere of women's interest to a very limited horizon, cramps the intellect and withers the mental development of one-half of the population in Moslem countries."
By 1924, when the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the American University of Beirut
began accepting applications from women, the norm that "Knowledge rather than ignorance preserves women's dignity and morality" had been firmly established. In the face of confinement and exclusion from the formal education system, middle-class women overcame their exclusion and marginalisation from society, holding informal literary or study circles in their family homes. Moreover, women such as Mayy Ziyadah and Mary 'Ajami went on to pursue higher education in Europe, returning to set up well-known salons
and contributing immeasurably to literary circles, print and production in the Arab world.
continued to linger in many Arab societies. Women of the urban middle and upper classes were confined to the domestic sphere, and the vast majority remained unseen and unheard in public life. Necessity afforded female members of the lower and rural classes slightly more 'freedom', as they were needed to work the land in order to support their families. Women's issues began to emerge from the background - albeit slowly - in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, with the likes of Qāsim Amin (1863–1908) calling the seclusion of women an 'injustice' and advocating partial empowerment of women. However, the majority of prominent feminist writers were men, and the presence of women activists in the public sphere
was virtually non-existent. The salon and its male participants, many of whom were well-known intellectuals, provided them with a means in which to express their ideas and opinions in private, whilst accessing the male-dominant public sphere
through their lively discussions and debates. In her thesis entitled 'Arab Women Going Public: Mayy Ziyadah and her Literary Salon in a Comparative Context', Boutheina Khaldi remarks that women of the salons overcame the obstacle of gender inequality "by bringing public men into their private salons and hence creating a public sphere
from the very heart of the private one." The essays and letters produced by hostesses and participants of the salons on the topics discussed also had a considerable impact on society at the time, and in particular, the nurturing of the Arab Renaissance and women's emancipation. The publication of letters by is interpreted by Jürgen Habermas
in his writing on the public sphere as bridging the gap between the private sphere in which women gathered, and the public sphere that they sought to shape and conquer.
or ) was an endeavour to reach a compromise between contemporary practices similar to those in Europe
and a shared Arab heritage, in the hope of shaping a new vision for an Arab society in transition. The relationship between women's literary salons and the Arab Awakening, as it was also referred to, is of paramount importance. Not only were meetings of literary figures an integral part of the Renaissance, but from the beginning of the Arab Renaissance in the nineteenth century, women came to realise the strong bonds between the literary-cultural, social and political, and that the literary movement was key to liberating the 'collective consciousness' from the traditional norms that had stunted their progress. Men also began to acknowledge the importance of women's emancipation to national liberation and development at this time, and there is no doubt that increased interactions between male and female intellectuals within literary circles made an invaluable contribution. One of the first men to write about the liberation of women was Qāsim Amin, an influential literary figure at the turn of the twentieth century, argued for the emancipation of women for the sake of the Arab Renaissance, as did al-Tahtawi. It is interesting to note that both of these men frequented Mayy Ziyadah's salon in Cairo
. Thus women's desire for emancipation and men's nationalist dreams became the keystone in the advancement of society.
In 1847, two great literary figures of the Arab cultural renaissance, Butrus Al-Bustani and Nasif Al-Yaziji, founded the first literary society, Jam'iyyat al-Adab wal-'Ulum (The Literary and Scientific Society). Its members were exclusively Syrian Christians and Europeans living and working in diplomatic and missionary circles. However, ten years later, al-Jam'iyya al-'Ilmiyya al-Suriyya (The Syrian Scientific Society) was established, and attracted Western-educated Muslims and Druze
as well as Christians. In 1917, the Tunisian literary figure, Hassan Hosni Abdel-Wahab wrote about the urgent need for educated Muslim young women to take charge of the future and to 'awaken the nationalist spirit', as without this, 'life would turn to nihilism and its consequences'. Only a few years later in the 1920s, Manwia Al-Wartani and Habiba Al-Minshari, became the leaders of a dynamic women's movement in Tunisia. Like these Tunisian pioneers, women of the upper and middle classes across the increasingly imagined Arab world began to reap the benefits of education, and many of them began to focus on writing and joined their male counterparts in contributing to the Arab Renaissance.
One woman of particular significance to the awareness of the Arab Renaissance amongst women was Princess Nāzīl Fadīl (c.1884-1914). Her salon seems to have had an effect on its male guests, who were usually prominent members of the nationalist cause.
The tradition of women's printing and press, an integral part of middle-class circles and the Renaissance, was also intertwined with the literary salon. Many hostesses produced letters and essays on issues discussed in salons, such as equality, women's rights and nationalism. In Palestine
, for example, the press became a partisan for the women, who used it as a transmitter and a publicist for their activities. The Lebanese journalist, Hind Nawfal published the first monthly journal, al-Fatah in 1892 in Egypt, encouraging women to think of journalism as a respectable occupation. Other journals, of which many were published by Lebanese women in Egypt
, followed suit: "Anis al-Jalis, al-'A'ilah, al-Mar'ah, al-Zahrah, Fatat al-Sharq, al-A'mal al-Yadawiyyah and al-'Arous (The Bride) which was published by Mary 'Ajami. It is worth noting that this publication did not focus solely on women's issues, but also those related to the Renaissance and nationalism. Whilst the environment in which these female literary figures were operating in was becoming more and more conducive to women's issues, the road to equality and liberation was by no means free from obstacles, and many women published articles under pseudonyms.
comes from the Italian word sala; and was used to define a large reception hall or reception room in a private residence. Later, it was used when referring to social gatherings in nineteenth century France. The word found its way to Egypt
with the Napoleonic expedition, and was one of many traces of the French-Egyptian encounter (1798-1801) and its legacy. Whilst the word salon itself was a European import, there were various words in Arabic that were used to describe various kinds of social gatherings in the Arab world. According to the academic and expert, Boutheina Khaldi, the terms nadwah or nadi or muntada "...were used traditionally to indicate the call on people to gather for a purpose." The word majlis, however, such as the majlis of the first hostess of an Arab salon - Sukaynah bint al-Husayn - has the specific meaning of assembly, a gathering that might have a more regular or permanent nature in terms of time and place." Khaldi goes on to say that the frequenters of the more modern Arab salons were obviously aware of these, and often used both the French and the Arab words to refer to the gatherings, implying the synthesis of both Arab and European influences in the salon culture.
in the Arab world, of which little is known, dates back far longer than one would expect. Sukaynah bint al-Husayn (735 / 743), began running her salon centuries during the Umayyad
dynasty, well before the idea was first introduced to seventeenth century Europe
. She was a highly-regarded woman of great intelligence, and an expert in fashion and literature. She was the first woman to open her house to male and female guests, and organised evenings of music, literary criticism and poetry.
received at least part of their education in Europe or in European missionary schools, and were thus exposed to certain aspects of European culture, including the salon tradition. In this regard, the great impact of the colonial powers and the imposition of their culture and values on the region cannot be underestimated. However, that is by no means to say that the Arab women's literary salon was a passive imitation or export of European ideas. Rather, those men and women who travelled to Europe or who were well-read in European literature selected elements of the European tradition and fused them with the traditional Arab salons of old, which was typical of the Arab Renaissance. Moreover, in 1890, one of the French salonnières, Eugénie Le Brun, chose to hold a salon evening in Cairo in an effort to learn more about women's circles in Egypt, and to encourage the revival of the tradition.
One of the salons said to have had an influence is Madame de Rambouillet's salon, which opened in 1618 and was held at the Hôtel de Rambouillet
in Paris
. It was the first and most famous salon in French history. Rambouillet made sure to distinguish her salon from an Academy, and emphasised entertainment as well as enlightenment. Like the later literary salons in the Arab world, the gatherings bore witness to the mingling of the literary elite, with male intellectuals and middle-class women. In a similar fashion to the salons in Cairo
, topics such as religion, philosophy and history would be discussed, but it is noted that Rambouillet "...made sure the treatment of the subject was not heavy-handed." Mayy Ziyadah admired the French "salonnières", and made sure to write copious materials on the well-known French hostess, habituée and prominent woman of aristocratic Parisian society, Madame de Sévigné, who was herself influenced by her time spent at the Hôtel de Rambouillet. The great Egyptian nationalist and writer, Tāhā Husayn, who began attending Ziyadah's salon after she requested Ahmad Lutfi al-Sayyid bring him along on a Tuesday evening, comments on the fusion of Arab and European influences that created the salons of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries: "Mayy revives by this salon a long-established Arab practice, just as she transfers to Egypt a long-established European practice, ancient and modern."
, Jerusalem and Aleppo
were usually held in the evening or at night in the family homes of salonnières. One of the less well-known salons in Beirut, for example, was convened on three consecutive full-moon nights each month, where male and female guests stayed awake until dawn, enjoying the entertainment and lively literary discussions. It was the norm for salonnières to invite participants, and with notable exceptions such as Mayy Ziyadah who invited guests from different social standings in order to give young writers the opportunity to show off their talents to a discerning audience, the majority of salons were a space for male and female members of the educated middle class elite. Within the confines of the salon, the free-flow of conversation and reciprocity was encouraged, and a sense of equality was fostered. The salon evenings were also regarded as arbiters of music
and literature
, as well as places were social and political ideas were aired and discussed, and where guests could embrace new trends and fashions exported from Europe
. There was something unique about these salon sessions, according to the historian Keith Watenpaugh, who lends a description of a salon evening:
"...soirées were unrelated men and women circulated with one another freely, and where Christians and Muslims, who shared a similar educational background, drank and smoked cigarettes—rather than sharing a nargileh (hookah
pipe)—together while they sat in straight back chairs around high tables..."
The tone and topics of discussion were usually at the discretion of the salonnières or hostesses, who administered the conversation. Of course, every salon was slightly different, but most evenings offered a mix of serious and lighthearted conversation, with musical entertainment in some cases. As the conversation flowed, it was not uncommon for guests to colour their conversations with personal anecdotes or local gossip. Indeed, it was thought to be a necessary talent of a successful hostess to encourage such digressions. As these salons were conducted during the Arab Awakening, which advocated a synthesis of tradition and modernity, the use of fushā (classical Arabic) was emphasised. Unfortunately, specific topics of conversation in the literary salons have remained somewhat of a mystery over the years. However, in Yatanaqashun (They Discuss), a fictional portrayal of a salon session held in her house in which the subject of 'equality' was discussed at length, Mayy Ziyadah gives a good indication of the content, atmosphere and interactions between male and female participants in her salon.
Antun Sha'rawi also encapsulates the opulent evenings spent in a Syrian salon with his vivid description:
"Wearing either all black or all white dresses ordered from Paris, Marrash hosted the mixed evening get-togethers in which literary topics as varied as the Mu'allaqat, a cycle of seven pre-Islamic poems or the work of Rabelais were discussed. Chess and card games were played, and complicated poetry competitions took place; wine and araq flowed freely; participants sang, danced, and listened to records played on a phonograph."
; the Islamic reformists, al-Imām Muhammad 'Abduh
and Rifā'ah Rāfi' al-Tahtāwī; leader of the Egyptian Wafd
party, Sa'd Zaghlul; Lutfī al-Sayyid; the literary critic and journalist, 'Abbas Mahmũd al-'Aqqād; the Syrian poet, Khalil Mutrān
; the journalist Muhammad Husayn Haykal; the poet Ahmad Shawqī; the Egyptian Prime Minister Boutros Ghālī and the Egyptian nationalist and writer, Tāhā Husayn. Several of these men published articles and books on women's rights; including Rifā'ah Rāfi' al-Tahtāwi and Qāsim Amin, who is said to have found the inspiration for his seminal works, Tahrir al-Mar'ah (The Liberation of Women) and al-Mar'ah al-Jadidah (The New Woman) in Princess Nāzlī al-Fādil's salon.
's salon, the first salon in the nineteenth-century revival movement, was run from the house she shared with her husband in Aleppo
. The habitual gathering offered a private realm in which male and female guests could mingle, network, and discuss the fashionable topics of the time. Marrash would often entertain her guests by singing and playing the piano. Regulars at the salon included prominent literary figures and politicians, such as al-Kawakibi
, Qestaki al-Homsi
and Victor Khayyat.
salon towards the end of the nineteenth century, although the absence of female participants in her salon evenings should be noted. Like Maryana Marrash, Fādil added to the ambience in her salon by playing the piano, while one of her male guests sang and her Tunisian maid danced. The men who frequented her salon were prominent in Egyptian and Arab society; including statesmen, diplomats, journalists and literary figures. Among the regular visitors to her salon was the renowned Islamic Reformist thinker, Sheikh Mohammed 'Abduh
, as well as Qāsim Amin
, Boutros Ghali
and Saad Zaghloul, to name but a few.
.
- during the Mandate period. The salon provided local journalists, officials, officers, politicians and European diplomats with an opportunity to network and discuss the latest literary, social and political issues. Her parties have been described as 'elaborate affairs' with 'evening dress, Syrian food and drink, and dancing on the marble floor.' From time to time Antonius invited the boys from her orphanage to her salon evenings, as well as her array of famous guests.
began to host well-known men and women from intellectual, literary and political circles across the Arab world. Meetings were held at her family home, the first salon in Cairo in which men and women met together in the same room. In terms of etiquette, Ziyadah maintained a 'tactful correspondence' with guests of her salon, who were expected to inform her of their attendance through letters as a matter of courtesy. She and her guests also published letters they wrote from conversations in the salon.
A Syrian Christian journalist, Salim Sarkis, a typical representative of the educated middle class clientele who used to frequent the gatherings, attended Ziyadah's salon, which was held on Tuesday evenings for twenty-three years, 1913–1936. The influence of Ziyadah's time spent in the salons of France is obvious, with Sarkis comparing her to notable French "salonnières". The journalist gives the reader a rare insight into the atmosphere of the salon in the following description:
The salon evenings ended after her mother's death in 1932, as social pressure would not permit an unmarried woman to enjoy the company of men without members of her family present. A eulogy by Syrian poet Khalil Mutran
mourned Ziyadah's death and the passing of her salon:
salon only met sporadically, but was well-attended by many famous political figures and intellectuals; including Ahmad Shawqi
, Gabriel Taqlā and Muhammad Husayn Haykal
. She loved music, and would often play the piano long into the night whilst in her salon. Sha'rawi used to award a literary prize every year, and would also encourage young writers from her salon by sending them to study in Europe at her own expense.
in 1953. The salon was named after Sukaynah Bint Al-Husayn, the first Arab woman to host a salon. It was open to both men and women, though only the latter were in charge of running the proceedings. Its objectives included "...raising literary and artistic standards, creating strong bonds and cooperation among its members, publishing their works, translating Western literary works into Arabic, and translating Arabic literature into foreign languages. It continued to run until 1963, when its founder moved to Egypt.
and could not sit with the male participants; she would sit in another room of the house conducting the discussion, with her husband acting as the messenger for her and her guests.
was the first Arab woman in the nineteenth century to revive the tradition of the literary salon
in the Arab world, with the salon she ran in her family home. She was born into a respected family known for its literary prowess. In addition to her formal education at Christian missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut, where she learned French and became exposed to the French romantics, who influenced her work, she was also tutored privately in Arabic literature and grammar by her brother, Francis Marrash. She became an accomplished poet and author, publishing the first diwan (poetry collection) by a Syrian woman in the nineteenth century, Bint Fikr (A Girl of Thought). In her work, she is said to have praised the Ottoman Sultan Abd Al-Hamid, as well as the Ottoman governors of her native Aleppo. Amongst other projects, she wrote articles for Butrus Al-Bustani's Al-Janan magazine and published non-fiction works.
Born Nur al-Huda Sultan into a wealthy family in Minia, Northern Egypt, Huda Al-Sha'rawi
was educated in the confines of her family home. There, she learned the art of calligraphy, as well as Arabic, Turkish and French. She suffered great misfortune at an early age with the death of her father. Shortly afterwards, her family moved to Cairo and at age thirteen, she was forced to marry her legal guardian, 'Ali Sha'rawi, who was more than twenty years her senior. After she fell pregnant, her husband returned to his first wife and they remained apart for seven years until she gave into pressure to return to him. She was a great admirer of the French salonnière, Eugénie Le Brun, whose salon she first attended in the 1890s. Le Brun used to call the young Sha'rawi 'the flower' of her salon, and so on the days Sha'rawi was unable to attend, she usually sent flowers. She became one of the most famous feminists in the Arab world, through her endeavours for the women's cause. In 1914, she formed al-Ittihād al-Nisā'i al-Tahdhĩbĩ (Women's Refinement Union), where Egyptian and European came together to discuss new ideas. This led to the establishment of the Jami'yyat al-Ruqiyy a;-Adabiyyah li al-Sayyyidāt al-Misriyyāt (Egyptian Ladies Literary Improvement Society). After her husband's death in the 1920s, Sha'rawi dedicated her all of her time to the women's movement. She began to hold regular meetings for women at her home, and from this, the Egyptian Feminist Union was born. She launched a fortnightly journal, L'Égyptienne in 1925, in order to publicise the cause.
. Although the pair never met, they maintained a written correspondence until Gibran's death in 1931. Ziyadah was said to be devastated at the news of Gibran's death, and her grief was compounded by her mother's passing away one year later, in 1932. She became withdrawn, suffering a great deal of distress and depression, which led members of her family to commit her to a mental asylum in Lebanon. Ziyadah was profoundly humiliated and incensed by this decision, and left after a medical report proved that she was of sound mental health. She later died in 1941.
in 1906. She was a writer - frequently under the pseudonym of Layla (her mother's name) for fear of reprisals - as well as a poet, journalist and founder of the Damascus Women's Literary Club in 1920. Another of her achievements was the establishment of the literary journal, Al-Arous (The Bride) women's journal in 1910, which ran for eleven years.
'Ajami's successful career was tempered by elements of tragedy in her personal life. For many years, she longed to continue her studies abroad, but her father's death and the outbreak of war prevented her from doing so. Joseph T. Zeidan reminds us that her achievements "...must be assessed in the light of formidable obstacles she encountered while struggling to keep her journal alive, not least of which were her father's attempts to persuade her to quit." She was somewhat of an anomale for her time, and like her more famous peer Mayy Ziyadah, Mary 'Ajami never married.
and for women's rights. In the 1950s, she became the first woman to nominate herself for a seat in parliament. Although she was subsequently defeated, her endeavours were significant steps toward achieving their goal of elevating the status of the women in the Arab world.
until her death in 2007.
In 2010, a new weekly salon evening for young male and female writers and literary enthusiasts was launched in the basement of a hotel in Damascus. The popular event held on Monday evenings, named Bayt al-Qasid (House of Poetry), is an opportunity for new voices rather than established poets or writers, and attracts both Syrians and foreigners.
Al-Khansa
Tumāḍir bint ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥarth ibn al-Sharīd al-Sulamīyah , usually simply referred to as al-Khansā’ was a 7th century Arabic poet. She was born and raised in the Najd region...
, would stand in the 'Ukaz market in Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, reciting her poetry and airing her views on the scholarship of others. From this, a culture of literary criticism emerged among Arab women, and under the Umayyad dynasty, Sukaynah Bint Al-Husayn established the first literary salon in her home. The tradition was revived during the late nineteenth century, as a result of sweeping social, political and economic change within the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and Europe's increasing political and cultural influence in the region. The initial pioneers of the Arab salon were women from wealthy families in Greater Syria
Greater Syria
Greater Syria , also known simply as Syria, is a term that denotes a region in the Near East bordering the Eastern Mediterranean Sea or the Levant....
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, who returned influenced by interaction with European women during their time spent studying abroad and frequenting Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian salons, or studying in schools run by European or American missionaries. The salon
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
evenings, run by women but attended by both men and women, provided a unique opportunity to have discussions about social, political and literary trends of the day. Though the tradition died out somewhat after the Second World War, it has left a lasting legacy on literary culture and women's issues throughout the Arab World. Indeed, more than one hundred years later, the UN Arab Human Development Report
Arab Human Development Report
The Arab Human Development Report is an independent report sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme , providing leading Arab scholars a platform through which to analyze the challenges and opportunities for human development in the Arab Region...
echoes what many people in Arab societies were coming to realise at that time: "An Arab Renaissance cannot be accomplished without the rise of women in Arab countries."
Women and education
The educational reforms of the nineteenth century, a period of sweeping social, economic and political transition, resulted from various undercurrents occurring at different levels within the realms of the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
from the Mashreq (Greater Syria) to the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
(North Africa). These trends were largely attributable to the increased European presence in the region and their secular ideas of modernity
Modernity
Modernity typically refers to a post-traditional, post-medieval historical period, one marked by the move from feudalism toward capitalism, industrialization, secularization, rationalization, the nation-state and its constituent institutions and forms of surveillance...
.
At a societal level, the arrival of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
missionaries supported by the European and American governments led to the creation of a formal system of education for girls, who had until this period received little or no education. Initially, this took the form of private institutions attracting wealthy and mostly Christian families. However, as these schools became more socially acceptable and affordable, the idea trickled down to the middle classes before finally reaching out to the poor. Thus, a new norm was becoming increasingly prevalent; the idea that girls should receive an education so as to afford them better marriage prospects, and more importantly, to provide them with adequate means in which to educate their children. At this point in time, the range of subjects offered to women was limited. However women seized these opportunities to learn, and showed admirable drive and determination. By the middle of the century, a sense of "...awareness and obligation for intellectual and social consciousness, especially the appreciation of women's plight, and the struggle for a voice in society became visible and public." A notable example of the contribution of Western missionaries to increasing educational opportunities for women was the work of Daniel and Abby Maria Bliss, an American couple who moved to Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
in 1866 and subsequently set up the Syrian Protestant College (which later became the American University of Beirut
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
). In 1905, a nursing programme that accepted applications from women was established, and in 1924, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences opened its doors to female students.
The rumblings of reform taking place within Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
society reached the Sultanate, and were eventually echoed at an institutional level. The Ottoman regime, in order to counteract the threat of political and religious influence from the Christian missionary schools and due to the realisation that the empire could not hope to survive without learning the modern natural sciences, began to implement its own reforms (tanzimat). According to the Arab historian, Eugene Rogan, the reforms introduced by the Sultanate had little effect on the subjects of the empire. However, by the 1850s and 1860s, the fruits of reform were visible in the daily life.
The third (and arguably the most important) current that led to the existence and improvement of women's education in the nineteenth and early twentieth century was due to European colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
and its legacy. Napoleon's short-lived occupation of Egypt (1798–1801) was relatively unsuccessful by French standards. However, their revolutionary ideas and imports in the field of technology and education were to prove more durable in Egypt and the rest of North Africa. Under the leadership of Muhammad 'Ali, an admirer of French innovation and technology, interactions and exchanges between Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the cultural, academic and scientific fields increased during his reign Indeed, it was not just male students who spent time abroad. Notable Arab hostesses or salonnières such as Mayy Ziyadah spent time in France, and the Egyptian feminist and occasional hostess of salon evenings, Huda Sha'rawi, used to grant scholarships to writers enabling them to study in Europe at her own expense. Ideas of educational reform and feminism were also occurring elsewhere in the Arab world, with the Syrian writer and scholar, Butrus al-Bustani (1819–1883) in Lebanon among the first to advocate women’s right to education in 1847. Two decades later in Tunisia, the reformist, Ahmed Kheireddine, stressed the importance of women's education in the running of households and raising children. This was a small, but crucial step in the emancipation of women in society. Later in Egypt, after the British took over from the French in their 'civilising mission' of Egypt they also contributed to the reform of women's education. In his work entitled, Modern Egypt, Lord Cromer, who had served for almost thirty years as High Commissioner of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, "...by confining the sphere of women's interest to a very limited horizon, cramps the intellect and withers the mental development of one-half of the population in Moslem countries."
By 1924, when the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the American University of Beirut
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
began accepting applications from women, the norm that "Knowledge rather than ignorance preserves women's dignity and morality" had been firmly established. In the face of confinement and exclusion from the formal education system, middle-class women overcame their exclusion and marginalisation from society, holding informal literary or study circles in their family homes. Moreover, women such as Mayy Ziyadah and Mary 'Ajami went on to pursue higher education in Europe, returning to set up well-known salons
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
and contributing immeasurably to literary circles, print and production in the Arab world.
Women and the public sphere
At the turn of the nineteenth century, the idea of the haremHarem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
continued to linger in many Arab societies. Women of the urban middle and upper classes were confined to the domestic sphere, and the vast majority remained unseen and unheard in public life. Necessity afforded female members of the lower and rural classes slightly more 'freedom', as they were needed to work the land in order to support their families. Women's issues began to emerge from the background - albeit slowly - in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, with the likes of Qāsim Amin (1863–1908) calling the seclusion of women an 'injustice' and advocating partial empowerment of women. However, the majority of prominent feminist writers were men, and the presence of women activists in the public sphere
Public sphere
The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action...
was virtually non-existent. The salon and its male participants, many of whom were well-known intellectuals, provided them with a means in which to express their ideas and opinions in private, whilst accessing the male-dominant public sphere
Public sphere
The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action...
through their lively discussions and debates. In her thesis entitled 'Arab Women Going Public: Mayy Ziyadah and her Literary Salon in a Comparative Context', Boutheina Khaldi remarks that women of the salons overcame the obstacle of gender inequality "by bringing public men into their private salons and hence creating a public sphere
Public sphere
The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action...
from the very heart of the private one." The essays and letters produced by hostesses and participants of the salons on the topics discussed also had a considerable impact on society at the time, and in particular, the nurturing of the Arab Renaissance and women's emancipation. The publication of letters by is interpreted by Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas is a German sociologist and philosopher in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. He is perhaps best known for his theory on the concepts of 'communicative rationality' and the 'public sphere'...
in his writing on the public sphere as bridging the gap between the private sphere in which women gathered, and the public sphere that they sought to shape and conquer.
Women and the Arab cultural renaissance
The Arab Renaissance (al-NahdaAl-Nahda
Al-Nahda was a cultural renaissance that began in the late 19th century and early 20th century in Egypt, then later moving to Ottoman-ruled Arabic-speaking regions including Lebanon, Syria and others...
or ) was an endeavour to reach a compromise between contemporary practices similar to those in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and a shared Arab heritage, in the hope of shaping a new vision for an Arab society in transition. The relationship between women's literary salons and the Arab Awakening, as it was also referred to, is of paramount importance. Not only were meetings of literary figures an integral part of the Renaissance, but from the beginning of the Arab Renaissance in the nineteenth century, women came to realise the strong bonds between the literary-cultural, social and political, and that the literary movement was key to liberating the 'collective consciousness' from the traditional norms that had stunted their progress. Men also began to acknowledge the importance of women's emancipation to national liberation and development at this time, and there is no doubt that increased interactions between male and female intellectuals within literary circles made an invaluable contribution. One of the first men to write about the liberation of women was Qāsim Amin, an influential literary figure at the turn of the twentieth century, argued for the emancipation of women for the sake of the Arab Renaissance, as did al-Tahtawi. It is interesting to note that both of these men frequented Mayy Ziyadah's salon in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. Thus women's desire for emancipation and men's nationalist dreams became the keystone in the advancement of society.
In 1847, two great literary figures of the Arab cultural renaissance, Butrus Al-Bustani and Nasif Al-Yaziji, founded the first literary society, Jam'iyyat al-Adab wal-'Ulum (The Literary and Scientific Society). Its members were exclusively Syrian Christians and Europeans living and working in diplomatic and missionary circles. However, ten years later, al-Jam'iyya al-'Ilmiyya al-Suriyya (The Syrian Scientific Society) was established, and attracted Western-educated Muslims and Druze
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
as well as Christians. In 1917, the Tunisian literary figure, Hassan Hosni Abdel-Wahab wrote about the urgent need for educated Muslim young women to take charge of the future and to 'awaken the nationalist spirit', as without this, 'life would turn to nihilism and its consequences'. Only a few years later in the 1920s, Manwia Al-Wartani and Habiba Al-Minshari, became the leaders of a dynamic women's movement in Tunisia. Like these Tunisian pioneers, women of the upper and middle classes across the increasingly imagined Arab world began to reap the benefits of education, and many of them began to focus on writing and joined their male counterparts in contributing to the Arab Renaissance.
One woman of particular significance to the awareness of the Arab Renaissance amongst women was Princess Nāzīl Fadīl (c.1884-1914). Her salon seems to have had an effect on its male guests, who were usually prominent members of the nationalist cause.
The tradition of women's printing and press, an integral part of middle-class circles and the Renaissance, was also intertwined with the literary salon. Many hostesses produced letters and essays on issues discussed in salons, such as equality, women's rights and nationalism. In Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, for example, the press became a partisan for the women, who used it as a transmitter and a publicist for their activities. The Lebanese journalist, Hind Nawfal published the first monthly journal, al-Fatah in 1892 in Egypt, encouraging women to think of journalism as a respectable occupation. Other journals, of which many were published by Lebanese women in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, followed suit: "Anis al-Jalis, al-'A'ilah, al-Mar'ah, al-Zahrah, Fatat al-Sharq, al-A'mal al-Yadawiyyah and al-'Arous (The Bride) which was published by Mary 'Ajami. It is worth noting that this publication did not focus solely on women's issues, but also those related to the Renaissance and nationalism. Whilst the environment in which these female literary figures were operating in was becoming more and more conducive to women's issues, the road to equality and liberation was by no means free from obstacles, and many women published articles under pseudonyms.
Terminology
The French word, salon, which was first uttered in seventeenth century FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
comes from the Italian word sala; and was used to define a large reception hall or reception room in a private residence. Later, it was used when referring to social gatherings in nineteenth century France. The word found its way to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
with the Napoleonic expedition, and was one of many traces of the French-Egyptian encounter (1798-1801) and its legacy. Whilst the word salon itself was a European import, there were various words in Arabic that were used to describe various kinds of social gatherings in the Arab world. According to the academic and expert, Boutheina Khaldi, the terms nadwah or nadi or muntada "...were used traditionally to indicate the call on people to gather for a purpose." The word majlis, however, such as the majlis of the first hostess of an Arab salon - Sukaynah bint al-Husayn - has the specific meaning of assembly, a gathering that might have a more regular or permanent nature in terms of time and place." Khaldi goes on to say that the frequenters of the more modern Arab salons were obviously aware of these, and often used both the French and the Arab words to refer to the gatherings, implying the synthesis of both Arab and European influences in the salon culture.
The first salon
The history of the literary salonSalon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
in the Arab world, of which little is known, dates back far longer than one would expect. Sukaynah bint al-Husayn (735 / 743), began running her salon centuries during the Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
dynasty, well before the idea was first introduced to seventeenth century Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. She was a highly-regarded woman of great intelligence, and an expert in fashion and literature. She was the first woman to open her house to male and female guests, and organised evenings of music, literary criticism and poetry.
European influences
Many of the Arab women who founded literary salonsSalon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
received at least part of their education in Europe or in European missionary schools, and were thus exposed to certain aspects of European culture, including the salon tradition. In this regard, the great impact of the colonial powers and the imposition of their culture and values on the region cannot be underestimated. However, that is by no means to say that the Arab women's literary salon was a passive imitation or export of European ideas. Rather, those men and women who travelled to Europe or who were well-read in European literature selected elements of the European tradition and fused them with the traditional Arab salons of old, which was typical of the Arab Renaissance. Moreover, in 1890, one of the French salonnières, Eugénie Le Brun, chose to hold a salon evening in Cairo in an effort to learn more about women's circles in Egypt, and to encourage the revival of the tradition.
One of the salons said to have had an influence is Madame de Rambouillet's salon, which opened in 1618 and was held at the Hôtel de Rambouillet
Hôtel de Rambouillet
The Hôtel de Rambouillet was the Paris residence of Madame de Rambouillet, who ran a renowned literary salon there from about 1607 until her death in 1665...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. It was the first and most famous salon in French history. Rambouillet made sure to distinguish her salon from an Academy, and emphasised entertainment as well as enlightenment. Like the later literary salons in the Arab world, the gatherings bore witness to the mingling of the literary elite, with male intellectuals and middle-class women. In a similar fashion to the salons in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, topics such as religion, philosophy and history would be discussed, but it is noted that Rambouillet "...made sure the treatment of the subject was not heavy-handed." Mayy Ziyadah admired the French "salonnières", and made sure to write copious materials on the well-known French hostess, habituée and prominent woman of aristocratic Parisian society, Madame de Sévigné, who was herself influenced by her time spent at the Hôtel de Rambouillet. The great Egyptian nationalist and writer, Tāhā Husayn, who began attending Ziyadah's salon after she requested Ahmad Lutfi al-Sayyid bring him along on a Tuesday evening, comments on the fusion of Arab and European influences that created the salons of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries: "Mayy revives by this salon a long-established Arab practice, just as she transfers to Egypt a long-established European practice, ancient and modern."
An evening spent in the salon
Unlike salon sessions in England, which sometimes took place during the day or over several days the salons in cities such as CairoCairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Jerusalem and Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
were usually held in the evening or at night in the family homes of salonnières. One of the less well-known salons in Beirut, for example, was convened on three consecutive full-moon nights each month, where male and female guests stayed awake until dawn, enjoying the entertainment and lively literary discussions. It was the norm for salonnières to invite participants, and with notable exceptions such as Mayy Ziyadah who invited guests from different social standings in order to give young writers the opportunity to show off their talents to a discerning audience, the majority of salons were a space for male and female members of the educated middle class elite. Within the confines of the salon, the free-flow of conversation and reciprocity was encouraged, and a sense of equality was fostered. The salon evenings were also regarded as arbiters of music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, as well as places were social and political ideas were aired and discussed, and where guests could embrace new trends and fashions exported from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. There was something unique about these salon sessions, according to the historian Keith Watenpaugh, who lends a description of a salon evening:
"...soirées were unrelated men and women circulated with one another freely, and where Christians and Muslims, who shared a similar educational background, drank and smoked cigarettes—rather than sharing a nargileh (hookah
Hookah
A hookah A hookah(Gujarati હૂકાહ) A hookah(Gujarati હૂકાહ) (Hindustani: हुक़्क़ा (Devanagari, (Nastaleeq) huqqah) also known as a waterpipe or narghile, is a single or multi-stemmed (often glass-based) instrument for smoking in which the smoke is cooled by water. The tobacco smoked is referred to...
pipe)—together while they sat in straight back chairs around high tables..."
The tone and topics of discussion were usually at the discretion of the salonnières or hostesses, who administered the conversation. Of course, every salon was slightly different, but most evenings offered a mix of serious and lighthearted conversation, with musical entertainment in some cases. As the conversation flowed, it was not uncommon for guests to colour their conversations with personal anecdotes or local gossip. Indeed, it was thought to be a necessary talent of a successful hostess to encourage such digressions. As these salons were conducted during the Arab Awakening, which advocated a synthesis of tradition and modernity, the use of fushā (classical Arabic) was emphasised. Unfortunately, specific topics of conversation in the literary salons have remained somewhat of a mystery over the years. However, in Yatanaqashun (They Discuss), a fictional portrayal of a salon session held in her house in which the subject of 'equality' was discussed at length, Mayy Ziyadah gives a good indication of the content, atmosphere and interactions between male and female participants in her salon.
Antun Sha'rawi also encapsulates the opulent evenings spent in a Syrian salon with his vivid description:
"Wearing either all black or all white dresses ordered from Paris, Marrash hosted the mixed evening get-togethers in which literary topics as varied as the Mu'allaqat, a cycle of seven pre-Islamic poems or the work of Rabelais were discussed. Chess and card games were played, and complicated poetry competitions took place; wine and araq flowed freely; participants sang, danced, and listened to records played on a phonograph."
Men who visited the salon
A number of notable men, famous for their ideas and writing frequented the literary salons and contributed to the discussions. Some of them developed friendships with the female hostesses and asked them for their advice and opinions on their work. Among those who visited the salons was the advocate of women's rights and writer, Qāsim AminQasim Amin
Qasim Amin born on 1 December 1863 Alexandria died April 22, 1908 Cairo was an Egyptian jurist and one of the founders of the Egyptian national movement and Cairo University. Qasim Amin was considered by many as the Arab world’s “first feminist”...
; the Islamic reformists, al-Imām Muhammad 'Abduh
Muhammad Abduh
Muhammad Abduh was an Egyptian jurist, religious scholar and liberal reformer, regarded as the founder of Islamic Modernism...
and Rifā'ah Rāfi' al-Tahtāwī; leader of the Egyptian Wafd
WAFD
WAFD is a Hot Adult Contemporary formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Webster Springs, West Virginia, serving East Central West Virginia. WAFD is owned and operated by Summit Media Broadcasting, LLC.-External links:*...
party, Sa'd Zaghlul; Lutfī al-Sayyid; the literary critic and journalist, 'Abbas Mahmũd al-'Aqqād; the Syrian poet, Khalil Mutrān
Khalil Mutran
Khalil Mutran , also known by the sobriquet Sha’ir al Qutrayn was a noted Arabic poet and journalist.-Life:...
; the journalist Muhammad Husayn Haykal; the poet Ahmad Shawqī; the Egyptian Prime Minister Boutros Ghālī and the Egyptian nationalist and writer, Tāhā Husayn. Several of these men published articles and books on women's rights; including Rifā'ah Rāfi' al-Tahtāwi and Qāsim Amin, who is said to have found the inspiration for his seminal works, Tahrir al-Mar'ah (The Liberation of Women) and al-Mar'ah al-Jadidah (The New Woman) in Princess Nāzlī al-Fādil's salon.
Marrash's Salon (Aleppo)
Maryana MarrashMaryana Marrash
Maryana bint Fathallah bin Nasrallah Marrash , was a Syrian writer and poet of the Nahda movement . She brought the tradition of literary salons back into the Middle East. She was the first Syrian female poet to publish a collection of poetry...
's salon, the first salon in the nineteenth-century revival movement, was run from the house she shared with her husband in Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
. The habitual gathering offered a private realm in which male and female guests could mingle, network, and discuss the fashionable topics of the time. Marrash would often entertain her guests by singing and playing the piano. Regulars at the salon included prominent literary figures and politicians, such as al-Kawakibi
Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi
‘Abd al-Raḥman al-Kawākibī was a Syrian author and Pan-Islamic Arab solidarity supporter from Aleppo. He was one of the most prominent intellectuals of his time; however, his thoughts and writings continue to be relevant to the issues of Islamic identity and Pan-Arabism...
, Qestaki al-Homsi
Qestaki al-Homsi
Qusṭākī al-Ḥimṣī was a Syrian writer and poet of the Nahda movement , a prominent figure in the Arabic literature of the 19th and 20th centuries and one of the first reformers of the traditional Arabic poetry...
and Victor Khayyat.
Princess Nāzlī Fādil's Salon (Cairo)
Nāzlĩ Fādil was one of the first women to revive the tradition of the literary salon and contributed immeasurably to the cause of women's emancipation in the Arab world. She began to invite guests to her CairoCairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
salon towards the end of the nineteenth century, although the absence of female participants in her salon evenings should be noted. Like Maryana Marrash, Fādil added to the ambience in her salon by playing the piano, while one of her male guests sang and her Tunisian maid danced. The men who frequented her salon were prominent in Egyptian and Arab society; including statesmen, diplomats, journalists and literary figures. Among the regular visitors to her salon was the renowned Islamic Reformist thinker, Sheikh Mohammed 'Abduh
Muhammad Abduh
Muhammad Abduh was an Egyptian jurist, religious scholar and liberal reformer, regarded as the founder of Islamic Modernism...
, as well as Qāsim Amin
Qasim Amin
Qasim Amin born on 1 December 1863 Alexandria died April 22, 1908 Cairo was an Egyptian jurist and one of the founders of the Egyptian national movement and Cairo University. Qasim Amin was considered by many as the Arab world’s “first feminist”...
, Boutros Ghali
Boutros Ghali
Boutros Ghali was the Prime Minister of Egypt from 1908 to 1910. He was a Coptic Christian.Ghali was accused of favouring the British in the Denshawai incident and on February 20, 1910, was assassinated by Ibrahim Nassif al-Wardani, a young pharmacology graduate who had just returned from the...
and Saad Zaghloul, to name but a few.
The Dawn of Syria (Beirut)
In 1880, the Lebanese writer, Maryam Nimr Makariyus, established the Dawn of Syria literary society in BeirutBeirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
.
The Association of the Arab Women Awakening (Beirut)
This literary society was founded by Muslim women in Beirut in 1914.Katy Antonius' Salon (Jerusalem)
Katy Antonius ran what has been described as 'the focal point of Jerusalem social life' from the home she shared with her husband - the celebrated Arab nationalist, George AntoniusGeorge Antonius
George Habib Antonius, CBE was a Lebanese-Egyptian author and diplomat, settled in Palestine, one of the first historians of Arab nationalism. Born in Deir al Qamar in a Lebanese Orthodox Christian family, he served in the British Mandate of Palestine. His 1938 book The Arab Awakening was...
- during the Mandate period. The salon provided local journalists, officials, officers, politicians and European diplomats with an opportunity to network and discuss the latest literary, social and political issues. Her parties have been described as 'elaborate affairs' with 'evening dress, Syrian food and drink, and dancing on the marble floor.' From time to time Antonius invited the boys from her orphanage to her salon evenings, as well as her array of famous guests.
Mayy Ziyadah's Salon (Cairo)
Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, Mayy ZiyadahMay Ziade
May Ziade , was a prolific Christian Lebanese-Palestinian poet, essayist and translator....
began to host well-known men and women from intellectual, literary and political circles across the Arab world. Meetings were held at her family home, the first salon in Cairo in which men and women met together in the same room. In terms of etiquette, Ziyadah maintained a 'tactful correspondence' with guests of her salon, who were expected to inform her of their attendance through letters as a matter of courtesy. She and her guests also published letters they wrote from conversations in the salon.
A Syrian Christian journalist, Salim Sarkis, a typical representative of the educated middle class clientele who used to frequent the gatherings, attended Ziyadah's salon, which was held on Tuesday evenings for twenty-three years, 1913–1936. The influence of Ziyadah's time spent in the salons of France is obvious, with Sarkis comparing her to notable French "salonnières". The journalist gives the reader a rare insight into the atmosphere of the salon in the following description:
The salon evenings ended after her mother's death in 1932, as social pressure would not permit an unmarried woman to enjoy the company of men without members of her family present. A eulogy by Syrian poet Khalil Mutran
Khalil Mutran
Khalil Mutran , also known by the sobriquet Sha’ir al Qutrayn was a noted Arabic poet and journalist.-Life:...
mourned Ziyadah's death and the passing of her salon:
Huda Sha'rawi's Salon (Cairo / Beirut)
Sha'rawi'sHoda Shaarawi
Hoda Shaarawi , also sometimes transliterated as Huda Shaarawi or Hoda Sha'rawi, was a pioneer Egyptian feminist leader and nationalist.- Biography :...
salon only met sporadically, but was well-attended by many famous political figures and intellectuals; including Ahmad Shawqi
Ahmed Shawqi
Ahmed Shawqi was the great Arabic Poet-Laureate, an Egyptian poet and dramatist who pioneered the modern Egyptian literary movement, most notably introducing the genre of poetic epics to the Arabic literary tradition...
, Gabriel Taqlā and Muhammad Husayn Haykal
Muhammad Husayn Haykal
Muhammad Hussein Haekal was an Egyptian writer, journalist, politician and Minister of Education in Egypt.- Life :...
. She loved music, and would often play the piano long into the night whilst in her salon. Sha'rawi used to award a literary prize every year, and would also encourage young writers from her salon by sending them to study in Europe at her own expense.
The Women's Literary Club (Damascus)
The Damascus Women's Literary Club was founded by Mary Ajami around 1920, and was aimed at strengthening the bonds between women. It held public meetings, giving its members a platform on which to air their views on literary and political issues. Occasionally they discussed politics, but they were mainly interested in reviving classical Arabic literature and familiarising themselves with modern Western thought. According to Joseph T. Zeidan, those who frequented the salon were treated to the melodic tones of Mary’s sister’s piano playing, as well as the insightful and witty comments of Mary herself, who was ".. highly praised for her ability to run the intellectual discourse and was acknowledged as a ‘skilled talker’".Sukaynah's Salon (Damascus)
Thurayya Al-Hafez, a school teacher and popular feminist, launched a salon evening in her house in DamascusDamascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
in 1953. The salon was named after Sukaynah Bint Al-Husayn, the first Arab woman to host a salon. It was open to both men and women, though only the latter were in charge of running the proceedings. Its objectives included "...raising literary and artistic standards, creating strong bonds and cooperation among its members, publishing their works, translating Western literary works into Arabic, and translating Arabic literature into foreign languages. It continued to run until 1963, when its founder moved to Egypt.
Zaynab Fawwaz (1846–1914)
Zaynab Fawwaz was a pioneering poet, novelist and historian of famous women. She was born into a prominent Shiite family in Tabnin, a town in the mountainous region of Southern Lebanon. As was typical of many women of the period, she did not attend school, but received private tutoring from Fatima Khalil Al-As'ad, the wife of the feudal lord of Mount 'Amil and prominent literary critic. During her stay with Al-As'ad, she married one of the domestic workers. However, they would later divorce for reasons that remain unclear, although it seems she suffered 'the devastation of polygamy'. She later moved to Alexandria, where she became the student of the poet and owner of Al-Nil Magazine, Hasan Husni Al-Tuwayrani. Under his guidance, she began to write articles on social issues affecting women, under the pseudonym of Durrat al-Sharq (Pearl of the East). According to the Critical Reference Guide of Arab Women Writers, Fawwaz was "...the first woman's voice calling for the women's awakening and defending their rights, humanity, and equality with men." It was during her stay in Damascus with her second husband, the writer Adib Nazmi, that Zaynab Fawwaz founded a literary salon. As she wore the niqabNiqab
A niqab is a cloth which covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of sartorial hijāb...
and could not sit with the male participants; she would sit in another room of the house conducting the discussion, with her husband acting as the messenger for her and her guests.
Maryana Marrash (1848−1919)
Maryana MarrashMaryana Marrash
Maryana bint Fathallah bin Nasrallah Marrash , was a Syrian writer and poet of the Nahda movement . She brought the tradition of literary salons back into the Middle East. She was the first Syrian female poet to publish a collection of poetry...
was the first Arab woman in the nineteenth century to revive the tradition of the literary salon
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
in the Arab world, with the salon she ran in her family home. She was born into a respected family known for its literary prowess. In addition to her formal education at Christian missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut, where she learned French and became exposed to the French romantics, who influenced her work, she was also tutored privately in Arabic literature and grammar by her brother, Francis Marrash. She became an accomplished poet and author, publishing the first diwan (poetry collection) by a Syrian woman in the nineteenth century, Bint Fikr (A Girl of Thought). In her work, she is said to have praised the Ottoman Sultan Abd Al-Hamid, as well as the Ottoman governors of her native Aleppo. Amongst other projects, she wrote articles for Butrus Al-Bustani's Al-Janan magazine and published non-fiction works.
Huda Sha'rawi (1879–1947)
Hoda Shaarawi
Hoda Shaarawi , also sometimes transliterated as Huda Shaarawi or Hoda Sha'rawi, was a pioneer Egyptian feminist leader and nationalist.- Biography :...
was educated in the confines of her family home. There, she learned the art of calligraphy, as well as Arabic, Turkish and French. She suffered great misfortune at an early age with the death of her father. Shortly afterwards, her family moved to Cairo and at age thirteen, she was forced to marry her legal guardian, 'Ali Sha'rawi, who was more than twenty years her senior. After she fell pregnant, her husband returned to his first wife and they remained apart for seven years until she gave into pressure to return to him. She was a great admirer of the French salonnière, Eugénie Le Brun, whose salon she first attended in the 1890s. Le Brun used to call the young Sha'rawi 'the flower' of her salon, and so on the days Sha'rawi was unable to attend, she usually sent flowers. She became one of the most famous feminists in the Arab world, through her endeavours for the women's cause. In 1914, she formed al-Ittihād al-Nisā'i al-Tahdhĩbĩ (Women's Refinement Union), where Egyptian and European came together to discuss new ideas. This led to the establishment of the Jami'yyat al-Ruqiyy a;-Adabiyyah li al-Sayyyidāt al-Misriyyāt (Egyptian Ladies Literary Improvement Society). After her husband's death in the 1920s, Sha'rawi dedicated her all of her time to the women's movement. She began to hold regular meetings for women at her home, and from this, the Egyptian Feminist Union was born. She launched a fortnightly journal, L'Égyptienne in 1925, in order to publicise the cause.
Mayy Ziyadah (1886−1941)
Mayy Ziyyadah is the most well-known of the women associated with the literary salons, and was a leading figure in literary circles throughout the Arab world. Unlike her peers, Princess Nazli Fadil and Huda Sha'rawi, Mayy Ziyadah was more a 'woman of letters' than a social reformer. However, she was also involved in the women's emancipation movement. Mayy Ziyadah never married, but she had a relationship with one of the Arab literary greats of the twentieth century, the Lebanese-American poet and writer, Khalil GibranKhalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran Jubrān Khalīl Jubrān,Jibrān Khalīl Jibrān, or Jibrān Xalīl Jibrān; Arabic , January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931) also known as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer...
. Although the pair never met, they maintained a written correspondence until Gibran's death in 1931. Ziyadah was said to be devastated at the news of Gibran's death, and her grief was compounded by her mother's passing away one year later, in 1932. She became withdrawn, suffering a great deal of distress and depression, which led members of her family to commit her to a mental asylum in Lebanon. Ziyadah was profoundly humiliated and incensed by this decision, and left after a medical report proved that she was of sound mental health. She later died in 1941.
Mary 'Ajami (1888−1965)
Mary 'Ajami spent her formative years in Damascus, where she received an education from Irish and Russian missionary schools, before studying nursing at the American University of BeirutAmerican University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
in 1906. She was a writer - frequently under the pseudonym of Layla (her mother's name) for fear of reprisals - as well as a poet, journalist and founder of the Damascus Women's Literary Club in 1920. Another of her achievements was the establishment of the literary journal, Al-Arous (The Bride) women's journal in 1910, which ran for eleven years.
'Ajami's successful career was tempered by elements of tragedy in her personal life. For many years, she longed to continue her studies abroad, but her father's death and the outbreak of war prevented her from doing so. Joseph T. Zeidan reminds us that her achievements "...must be assessed in the light of formidable obstacles she encountered while struggling to keep her journal alive, not least of which were her father's attempts to persuade her to quit." She was somewhat of an anomale for her time, and like her more famous peer Mayy Ziyadah, Mary 'Ajami never married.
Katy Antonius
Katy (née Nimr) Antonius was born to Egyptian-Lebanese parents, and experience a privileged upbringing and education in Alexandria as the daughter of a prominent Egyptian publisher and landowner. In 1927, she married the intellectual and Arab nationalist, George Antonius, who is most famous for his book entitled, 'The Arab Awakening'. She was a fashionable socialite known for her wit, humour, kindness, and charm; as well as her infamous parties and salon evenings. As well as her salon, Antonius established a boys' orphanage in Old Jerusalem called Dar al-Awlad.Thuraya Al-Hafez
For years, Thuraya Al-Hafez campaigned against the niqabNiqab
A niqab is a cloth which covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of sartorial hijāb...
and for women's rights. In the 1950s, she became the first woman to nominate herself for a seat in parliament. Although she was subsequently defeated, her endeavours were significant steps toward achieving their goal of elevating the status of the women in the Arab world.
Modern-day salons
In the 1960s, women and their ideas started to become part of the mainstream culture, and thus the important role of women-run salons declined in its importance. That said, The Women's Literary Club, which was founded by Mary 'Ajami in 1922, continues to run in Damascus, and was attended regularly by the novelist Ulfat IdilbiUlfat idilbi
Ulfat Idilbi was a Syrian novel writer. She wrote books that became best sellers in the Arabic-speaking world, such as "Dimashq ya Basimat el Huzn" , which was translated into many languages and filmed as "Basimat al Huzn" .- Biography :Born in 1912, to a traditional Damascene...
until her death in 2007.
In 2010, a new weekly salon evening for young male and female writers and literary enthusiasts was launched in the basement of a hotel in Damascus. The popular event held on Monday evenings, named Bayt al-Qasid (House of Poetry), is an opportunity for new voices rather than established poets or writers, and attracts both Syrians and foreigners.