Zulaikha Abu Risha

Zulaikha Abd ar-Rahman Abu Risha (born 1942; ) is a Jordanian poet and activist. She has been a vocal advocate of women's rights, particularly concerning making the Arabic language more gender-inclusive.

Early life and education Zulaikha Abu Risha was born in 1942 in Acre, a city in what is now Israel. She describes herself as having Palestinian, Jordanian, and Syrian roots.

She studied Arabic literature at the University of Jordan, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1966 and a master's in 1989. She later pursued a doctorate at the University of Exeter, where she wrote her thesis on "Women in Arabic Feminist Literature"

Career Abu Risha is perhaps best known for her work as a poet and fiction writer. She has been considered a prominent member of the Jordanian literary scene.

In 1987, Abu Risha published the short story collection In the Cell, for which she won a prize from the University of Jordan.

Abu Risha also writes nonfiction on feminist criticism, literature, art, and gender and language. She has been a columnist for newspapers and magazines in Jordan and across the Arab world. Her women's rights advocacy since the early 1980s has made her a target of extremist groups, which have sought to incite violence against her. She has also been the target of lawsuits from Amman's Public Prosecution Office for comments on Islam.