hi (this is the same,e content of my last Arabic
update)
these days I am reading an Egyptian novel called"
Ramza the daughter of harem" it was written in the
twenties of the 20the century.this novel is apart of
the extra ordinary Egyptian national project "library
of family" that aims to republish books in very cheep
prices through the Egyptian ministry of culture under
licenses of the publishing firms.
the novelist is an Egyptian lady called Qoot
elQoloob al demerdashya and she was writing only in
french- including that novel- and may be that's why
she is not very known in the Arabic literature
history.Although she is one of the first pioneer Arab
Ladies WHO wrote a literature that worth reading.
al demerdashya was born in 1892 and died in 1968 in
Italy. her father is one of the most known Sheikhs in
Egypt and he founded a soffya group called the
demerdashya way that was named after him. this lady
was known inn Egypt as one of the charity leaders and
social action pioneers before the 1952 revolution as
one of the Egyptian-Turkish aristocrats class. she had
established a big hospital dedicated too treating the
poor in Cairo that is still working until today and
carrying her name. she had also devoted a share of her
wealth as a prize for the outstanding literature
producers which Naguib Mahfooz the Egyptian famous
novelist has won in his beginnings.( Mahfooz won a
Nobel prize in literature in 1988).
this lady was raised on a very religious Islamic
way. but real Islamic way that did not prevent her
from being one of the defenders and great leaders of
social progress and gender equity in the beginning of
the last century. She got married to a man who was
less than her in social status although her great love
to him , she insisted in using an Islamic right of
woman that is really used called El Esma'a meaning the
ability of the wife to get her self divorced and out
of the marriage company . she had 3 sons and one
daughter.
she established a cultural salon in her house in
which she was weekly hosting thinkers and writers to
have open debates on major issues especially the
gender equity. she was a close friend to Qasem Ameen
the fist ever defender of woman cause in Egypt and his
partner Emam Muhamed Abdou who used the Islamic real
principles of gender equity and modernization in
general for the first time among Islam theologists.
I am going to give you a summary of the novel as I
liked it very much. it happens starting form 1870s.
chapter 1: Harem ( a Turkish word to describe a part
of the house were men were not allowed to enter. only
wives, daughters or female slaves were allowed to be)
1----- Endsha
wait for the next time
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Make Yahoo! your home page
http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs