Salma Sayegh

Salma Sayegh was a Lebanese writer, novelist, and feminist of the Nahda era. She, along with other female contemporaries, helped in founding the Society for Women's Renaissance. in the early 1950s.

Biography Salma Sayegh was born on December 3, 1889, in Beirut, Lebanon. Her parents were originally from Wadi al-Taym and had moved to Beirut in 1860. She attended a school named Zahrat Al Ihsan, where she was inspired by her Arabic language teacher Al Sheikh Ibrahim Al Monzer. Later on, she spent a large part of her life teaching Arabic. She taught in a high school (الكلية العلمية للبنات) where she volunteered to give lessons in prose composition. Her public speeches caught the attention of the literary circles of her day.

After her return to Lebanon, she founded the Society For Women's Renaissance and ran the orthodox charitable schools in Beirut for five years. Her marriage didn't last long, and the couple split after the death of their son.

Society For Women's Renaissance In 1924, Sayegh was in the process of forming a society composed of women from Beirut called the Society for Women's Renaissance to lobby for gender equality; to sign, spread, and submit petitions; and to promote Lebanon's local economy by encouraging Syrian and Lebanese products. Its presidency was assigned to Labiba Thabit, and among the founding members were Khartum and Ibtihaj Qaddura, Najla Kfoury, Hunayneh Tarsha, Baida, Shuqayr, and Anbara Salam Khalidi.

They would meet once a week, hosting the meeting in turns. They began by visiting shops that stocked national products, then sent delegations to Syrian factories to encourage them and to suggest ways for improvement and quality control, calling for greater artistry and taste in design and color. They soon organized exhibitions for Lebanese products and attempted to turn native textiles into modern fashions, which they would wear during meetings. She advocated for equal wages to ensure a better living for all Lebanese.

She wrote for many magazines, such as Al Hasna''', Al Fajr, and Sawt al-Mar’a (The Women's Voice), and authored several novels. Her published works include:

Al Nasamat (The Breeze) 1923 Suwar w Thekrayat (Pictures and Memories) 1964Mouthakarat Sharkiya (Oriental Notes) She also published "Ba'ad Nawahi al-Khayr fi Lubnan" (Some Aspects of Humanism in Lebanon) and "A'amal al-Rahma" (Acts of Mercy) in both Arabic and French, in 1949.

Additionally, she translated from French the novel "The Girl of the Persians" and published it in a magazine named New Woman''.

Sayegh says in one of her articles:

“To the mountain of the Lord, O ye that are tired and heavy laden!

To the woods which echoed the kisses of the Salomon.

To the white summits where Jesus’ holiness was revealed.

Away from the city and its turbulence, I fled to the hilltops of Harissa where stands the mother of the Nazarene with open arms, as if repeating the call of her son: come to me, all ye that are tired and I shall give you rest.”

According to Rose Ghurayib, Sayegh’s writings were deeply emotional, “conscious of human suffering, strongly moved by the sight of misery”, and critical of children and women abuse and all sorts of social injustices.