From the Lands of Exile

The prince of Lebanese zajal, Mr. William Saab, is making a tour of the American regions, accompanied by a select company of Lebanese zajal poets. We have seen an article of his in the issue that lately reached us of the distinguished magazine Sada al-Sharq, edited by the rising woman of letters Mrs. Dalal Safadi. We have chosen to excerpt some of its passages on the pages of The Woman's Voice, that our readers in the homeland may see it:

Blessed is this honorable renaissance which the Lebanese woman is carrying out in the homeland and in the Mahjar. It is the renaissance of life for the new nation — knit together, liberated, pressing boldly forward, women and men alike, on the road of glory and freedom.

And I recall here the mighty renaissance of woman in the mother country, this renaissance which has spread through every Arab land and which was among the principal causes of our sovereignty and our independence.

Our woman made her living voice heard in the movements of independence. It is the voice of her own flesh and blood. It is the voice of those she raised and cherished. We heard our woman's voice uniting our sister Arab countries in great, organized congresses. And we saw our united women's associations in our country holding many charitable functions, buying clothing and food and distributing them to the needy of our people throughout the years of the recent war and after it. These associations worked under the patronage of their honorary president, the First Lady of Lebanon, who kept vigil through the long nights, going the rounds with her companions, the wives of ministers, deputies, and notables, to lighten the misery of the wretched and to bring happiness into needy homes — and all of this is owed to our woman's knowledge of her rights and her duties!

And I hope that the visit of the First Lady of Lebanon to the Mahjar may be a prelude to the convening of a general Arab women's congress, gathering the emigrant and expatriate women to unify points of view and of action; and there is no doubt that this is within reach, thanks to the wakefulness of our woman in the homeland and the Mahjar.