Our Joan of ArcApril 2011

Our Joan of Arc

Naziq al-Abed was a pioneer for both national independence and women's rights.

By Nadia Muhanna Photos Adel Samara

Naziq al-Abed (1898-1959)

It might be hard to imagine Damascene women in the 1920s – generally perceived as illiterateand cloaked in traditional mlaye (a short skirt and veil) – as freedom fighters. Yet many of themtook up both pens and arms in the fight against foreign rule.

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Our Joan of ArcApril 2011

Naziq al-Abed, a robust woman with a round face and dark, curious eyes, was one of themost controversial women to partake in the Syrian revolutions against the Ottomans andFrench. Born in 1898 as the daughter of an aristocrat and an insider in the court of OttomanSultan Abdulhamid II, Abed traded the French dance saloons, European tours and luxuriouslifestyle that her family maintained, for the battlefield. She was also a passionate feminist, ofteninfuriating the sensibilities of Damascus's conservative circles.

"She was not like any of her sisters," Burhan al-Abed, Naziq al-Abed's thirdcousin, said. "She was very liberal with a strong character. She was a true rebel."

Burhan, an anesthesiologist in his nineties, recalled with nostalgia his visits to his cousin'sfarm, where he usually found her working in the field or sitting on the floor eating with her fellowworkers.

"She was a humble person who loved sports and horseback riding. She used todress like middle-class Damascenes and avoided accessories and ornaments. She was theonly woman at that time who wore trousers and boots and carried a whip," he said.

Transition to politics Following her student years, Abed became politically engaged. Although she originallystudied agriculture, she worked as a journalist and became a vocal critic of the Ottoman andFrench policies in her country. In 1919, she led a women's delegation that discussed the Frenchmandate in Syria with the American King Crane Commission that was tasked with determiningthe attitudes of Syrians and Palestinians towards the settlement of their territories.

Naziq held anti-colonial views despite her family's ties to the Ottomans. She came from aprominent Damascene family whose members held important governmental positions during theOttoman empire. Her father, for example, was the wali (governor) of Mosul and her uncle,Ahmad Izzat, was the aide-de-camp and private advisor to Sultan Abdulhamid.

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Our Joan of ArcApril 2011

Many women activists worked with Naziq al-Abed. Together, they formed the Syrian RedCrescent in 1922. Yet, according to Burhan, her family did not mind Naziq's political stance, even though shewas exiled as a result of it in 1914 and again in 1919. "Even though the Abed family held important positions in the Ottoman empire, theywere proud of their Arab roots," he said. When France assumed the mandate of Syria in 1920, Naziq was the only Syrian woman totake up arms and join Youssef al-Azmah, Syria's then-defence minister, and the military at theBattle of Maysaloun. She is also said to be the only survivor of the battle, which ended in acatastrophic defeat and in the French occupation of Syria. Newspapers at the time hailed her as "Joan of Arc of the Arabs" and KingFaisal named her an honorary general in the Syrian army. Burhan Abed proudly recounted theking's visit to his family house, based on the story his mother used to tell. "We served him lemonade," he said, leafing through a thick, leather-boundbook and pointing out the common ancestors between his family and Naziq's.

Advocate for women Her 'liberal' views about women were less welcomed by her family, Burhan said. NaziqAbed removed her veil several times in public and in front of television cameras. Unlike hersisters, she was unmarried until she was in her forties and until then had lived alone in her farmin the Ghuta, a green area of Damascus fed by natural aqueducts. "Naziq's family were very modern and open minded compared to the mentality at thattime," Burhan said. "Even so, they did not always like her behavior. But she did notlisten to them. She did what she wanted to do." In 1919, Naziq al-Abed established Noor al-Fayyha (Light of Damascus), the first women'sorganisation in Syria. She also helped to establish many associations and organisations thatadvocated women's rights in Syria and Lebanon. She financed a hospital and was the founderof the Syrian Red Star which, according to Hazim Ba'ale, director of medical services at theSyrian Red Crescent, led to the opening of a women's branch of the international organisationin Syria in 1922. Historical facts are based on official documents from the Historical Documents Centre inDamascus and the book Steel and Silk by political analyst Sami Moubayed.

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