Muḥammad Jamīl Bayhum and the Woman Question

Abstract

This article sheds light on Muḥammad Jamīl Bayhum’s (1887–1978) activities and vision, and his historiographical writings on women which have received little scholarly attention. In this respect it is not a comparative study of Bayhum’s interpretations or the historical reality of women’s lives but rather a re-assessment of Bayhum’s historical oeuvres, and his synthesis of women’s history. The article examines the ways in which Bayhum’s historical writings, which were part of his political and national vision, contributed to constructing a local Muslim and Arab historiography of women during the 20th century. It presents Bayhum as an advocate of women’s social and political rights, who favored the recognition of women as citizens (or their counterpart in modern Lebanese and Arab societies), both during the period of French colonialism and in the post-colonial era.

Between Violence, Vulnerability, Resilience and Resistance

“…Nazik Al Abid was the first woman to earn a rank in the Syrian Arab Army, as she fought for national independence and for the women's right to work and vote in Syria (Zachs, 2013).…”

“…Aside from her activism in women's rights, Al Abid boldly criticized the long presence of the Ottomans in Syria and condemned French colonialism in the region (Arenfeldt, & Golley, 2012). She was granted an honorable rank in the Syrian Arab Army after she heroically fought in the Battle of Maysaloun; she later established the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in 1942 (Zachs, 2013).…”