Thuraya al-Hafez (1911-2000), (Arabic ثريا الحافظ) was a Syrian politician who campaigned against the niqab and for women's rights. After schooling in Damascus, Thuraya became in 1928 one of Syria's first female primary school teachers. In 1927, Thuraya established the Damascene Women's Awakening Society to promote a female intelligentsia, and became a prominent women's rights activist in the 1930s. 1930 saw her establishing the Women's School Alumnae Association for educated women. In May 1942, she led a protest march by one hundred women to the government headquarters in Damascus, where they all lifted their veils. She gave a speech arguing that 'the veil we wore was never mentioned in God's Holy Book or by Muhammad'. In 1947, she became an instructor in Arabic literature at Damascus's prestigious Tajheez School. In 1953, Thuraya became the first woman to nominate herself for a seat in the Syrian parliament. Although she was subsequently defeated, her endeavours were significant steps toward achieving their goal of elevating the status of the women in the Arab world. She claimed that the vote itself was tampered with and that she had in fact secured 75% of the vote. Thuraya's husband,

Munir al-Rayyes Munīr al-Rayyis (1901–1992) was a prominent Syrian newspaper editor and writer. Munir was born in Damascus which was at the time part of the Ottoman Empire. He studied literature at Damascus University and in 1919 began to work for the Ministry ...

, owned the Damascus daily paper ''Barada'', for which Thuraya began writing in 1953. In the same year, she 'launched her own literary and political salon in Damascus, which was open to both genders. The salon was convened in her own house and was named after Sukayna bint al-Hussein, the great-granddaughter of Prophet Muhammad, who presided over the first literary salon in Muslim history'. Like her husband, Thuraya supported

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...

of Egypt both during and after the

United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...

.Sami M. Moubayed, ''Steel and Silk: Men and Women who Shaped Syria 1900-2000'' (Seattle: Cune Press, 2006), p. 498.

Sources

Sami M. Moubayed, ''Steel and Silk: Men and Women who Shaped Syria 1900-2000'' (Seattle: Cune Press, 2006), p. 435.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hafez, Thuraya 1911 births 2000 deaths Syrian women's rights activists