Fatma Al-Yusef ( ar, فاطمة اليوسف),Sullivan, p
172
/ref> also known as Roz Al-Yosef ( ar, روز اليوسف) (1898 –10 April 1958),"The Arab Human Development Report 2005: Towards the Rise of Women in the Arab World," p
102
was a Lebanese born journalist and stage-actress, a pioneer of Arab female journalism and a patron of the Arab female press. She is considered the Arab world's first woman journalist.

Biography

Fatma Al Youssef was born in Tripoli, Lebanon to a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

family. She received her primary education in Tripoli. Her mother died at birth, and she arrived in Egypt with her father when she was 10 years old. Her father then went on to live in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and left her with the Christian family of Lebanese born Egyptian Eskander Farah, who had a major impact on her life, and especially on her choice to choose the acting profession. She began appearing at age 14. Initially, only in small roles, but her breakout came when none of the actresses agreed to play an old woman role, and Al-Yosef took it upon herself. From 1912 to 1925, she was a well-known theatre and work actress as part of the George Abyad troupe (1980-1959) and the Yusef Wahbi troupe (1998–1982) reaching the peak of fame between 1923-1925. Her success won her the nickname the "

Sarah Bernard Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pio ...

of the East" and praise from Egyptian and international critics. She also became a favourite of the high society. In 1925 she founded the news magazine ''

Rose al-Yūsuf ''Rose al-Yūsuf'' ( ar, روز اليوسف; also written ''Rose al-Yousef'') is an Arabic weekly political magazine published in Egypt. History and profile ''Rose al-Yūsuf'' was first published on 26 October 1925. The magazine was named afte ...

''. The magazine, which did not hesitate to use in illustration of caricatures, became popular and addressed taboo subjects such as religion and sexuality, frequently narrating the '

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptab ...

-age' of Egyptian society. This Cairo weekly, which continued despite the death of its founder in 1958, stood out in 1994 as one of the rare Arab journals to dare to publish extracts from the

Satanic Verses The Satanic Verses are words of "satanic suggestion" which the Islamic prophet Muhammad is alleged to have mistaken for divine revelation. The verses praise the three pagan Meccan goddesses: al-Lāt, al-'Uzzá, and Manāt and can be read in ear ...

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Wes ...

Legacy

Through her work she succeeded in breaking social and political conventions and boundaries, and shattering prejudices imposed on women during her time, depriving them of their right to self-expression and their integration into the political and social arena. Rose El Youssef, unique in her time, has become an emblematic figure of the Egyptian press and theatre and of the Cairo context in the interwar period. A documentary entitled ''The Legend of Rose al-Youssef'', was produced in 2002 by Mohamad Kamel al-Kalioubi . ''The Arab Human Development Report 2005: Towards the Rise of Women in the Arab World'' described her as a ''"pioneer of the stage and one of the earliest actresses."'' and said that she "was a woman unique in her time." She had said "I made this woman myself."

Personal life

Her son

Ihsan Abdel Quddous Ihsan Abdel Quddous ( arz, إحسان عبد القدوس ', ) (1 January 1919 – 12 January 1990) was an Egyptian writer, novelist, and journalist and editor in Egypt's '' Al Akhbar'' and ''Al-Ahram'' newspapers. He wrote many novels that ...

became one of Egypt's greatest writers. Her grandson is the Egyptian-American playwright

Yussef El Guindi Yussef El Guindi ( ar, يوسف الجندى ; born 1960) is an Egyptian-American playwright. He writes full-length, one-act, and adapted plays on Arab-Muslim experience in the United States. He is best known for his 2005 play ''Back of the Throa ...

References

* ''The Arab Human Development Report 2005: Towards the Rise of Women in the Arab World''.

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officially ...

, 2006. , 9789211261745. The cited chapter i
Chapter 3Archive
* Sullivan, Earl L. ''Women in Egyptian Public Life'' (Contemporary Issues in the Middle East Series).

Syracuse University Press Syracuse University Press, founded in 1943, is a university press that is part of Syracuse University. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. History SUP was formed in August 1943 when president William P. Tolley prom ...

, 1986. , 9780815623540.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yussef, Rose al- People from Tripoli, Lebanon Lebanese Muslims Lebanese people of Turkish descent Lebanese emigrants to Egypt Lebanese stage actresses Lebanese women journalists Egyptian magazine founders Egyptian stage actresses Egyptian women journalists Egyptian women writers 1898 births 1958 deaths 20th-century journalists

Biography

Legacy

Personal life

See also

References

Notes