Fatima Musa Al-Budairi (1923 – June 2009) was a Palestinian radio broadcaster and curator. She began her radio career at the radio station

Jerusalem Calling Jerusalem Calling was the radio station established by the British Mandatory Authority through its broadcasting wing, the Palestine Broadcasting Service. It broadcast in three languages, Arabic, English and Hebrew. The English broadcasts were un ...

broadcasting and producing and working as a women's and literary programme assistant and news broadcaster. Al-Budeiri also worked in Syria, Jordan and Palestine. She also worked for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and at the Jordan University Library. Al-Budari received recognition from the Arab Women Journalists Center.

Early life and education

She was born in Jerusalem in 1923. Al-Budeiri's lineage is traced back to an ancient family with roots in Jerusalem. She was the daughter of the Sharia judge Sheikh Musa al-Budeiri, who worked in Jerusalem, and transferred his knowledge to students at the

Al-Aqsa Mosque Al-Aqsa Mosque (, ), also known as Jami' Al-Aqsa () or as the Qibli Mosque ( ar, المصلى القبلي, translit=al-Muṣallā al-Qiblī, label=none), and also is a congregational mosque located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is situa ...

. Al-Budeiri was educated at the Teachers' College, Jerusalem, from which she graduated in 1941. She first educated in the city of Bethlehem, and then went on to teach at the Rural Teachers’ House in

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...

Career

In early 1946, Al-Budeiri joined the staff of the radio station

as a broadcaster and producer. Her father did not raise any objections to her career choice. Al-Budeiri worked as an assistant for the women's and literary programmes as well as broadcasting the news. She left the broadcaster in 1947. In 1949, Al-Budeiri relocated to

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

in the Levant and co-founded Radio Al-Sham with her husband. She moved to

in 1952, and was asked to broadcast the news on a daily basis on a radio station whilst also working in the education field. Al-Budeiri subsequently relocated to

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

in 1957 broadcasting the news on Radio Berlin Arab and East German Radio for the following seven years. She returned to Ramallah in 1965 and then relocated to

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

two years later. Al-Budeiri served as curator of the library at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East between 1965 and 1971 and later for the classification department at the Jordan University Library from 1978 to 1983. She partook in several Arab and international conferences with her professional experiences subjected to multiple studies and was researched for the purposes of the role of Arab women in the media.

Personal life

Al-Budeiri was married to the Palestinian poet, radio broadcaster and writer Issam Hammad from 1948 to 2006. There were two children of the marriage. In early July 2009, she died in Amman. Although Al-Budeiri dreamed of a burial in Jerusalem, she was instead buried in Amman.

Legacy

The obituarist for ''Al Ra'i'' described her as a "wonderful Jerusalemite lady". Aida Al-Najjar, the writer, said Al-Budeiri had made herself to be "a broadcaster for political news to be the leader among women, and in this work and to work with men". ''Ad-Dustour'' noted she was a "pioneer of Arab radio stations, and the only female voice that competed with men's voices on the radio." Al-Budeiri was given recognition by the Arab Women Journalists Center.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:al-Budeiri, Fatima 1923 births 2009 deaths Mass media people from Jerusalem 20th-century Palestinian women 20th-century Palestinian people 21st-century Palestinian women 21st-century Palestinian people Palestinian radio presenters Women radio presenters Palestinian broadcasters Women librarians