In the Palace of Huda Hanem Shaarawi, with the President of the International Women's Union

Our esteemed colleague Mr. Ilya Shaghouri spent a few weeks in Cairo, during which he had the honor of calling upon Her Ladyship the venerable leader Mrs. Huda Shaarawi. In her palace he made the acquaintance of Dr. Rydh, president of the International Women's Union, and had with her the engaging conversation that follows, which we reproduce from his distinguished Damascus newspaper "al-Balad."

I had no previous appointment with her, for her days in Cairo were numbered — scarcely enough for visiting the women's institutions and observing how far the renaissance of the Egyptian woman has advanced, and the extent of her share in humanitarian projects and in the national movement.

She was the guest of the leader of the women's movement in the Arab East, Mrs. Huda Hanem Shaarawi, in her sumptuous palace. She had come to Egypt with one of the members of the International Women's Union, intending to become acquainted with the women's unions in the countries of the Middle East and to see the work of their ladies.

This lady is Dr. Rydh, president of the International Women's Union; she is Swedish, and of a well-known family.

I said I had no previous appointment with her, for my presence that evening in the palace of Huda Shaarawi was chance. I had come to ask after the accomplished woman of letters Miss Hawa Idris, and she seized the favorable opportunity and presented me to Dr. Rydh — a lady of fifty years, tall of stature, of broad culture. No sooner had she learned that I was a son of Damascus, and a journalist, than she opened to me her complaint of the unforeseen circumstances that had beset her journey and would deprive her of a visit to Damascus, though it had been settled that she should visit it and meet with the Syrian Women's Union.

I said: And what are these unforeseen circumstances? She answered me with a certain vehemence mingled with a pained smile:

You may ask your government; it has the answer.

I then learned from her long account that her companion on the journey, who is the treasurer of the International Women's Union, is a Jewish lady called Mrs. Seelar, to whom the Syrian legation in London had granted a visa for entry into Syria. Upon her arrival in Cairo, Mrs. Seelar was told that the visa she held was considered void, and that the Cairo consulate was not charged with granting her a new one. Contacts passed between Cairo, Damascus, and Beirut to solve this problem, but to no avail — a thing which roused Mrs. Seelar's indignation, so that she fell to criticizing these proceedings and compelled her colleague Dr. Rydh to cancel her journey to Syria and Lebanon. The Syrian Women's Union had meanwhile taken note of the president's approaching arrival and made ready to receive her.

As for the reasons for this measure that was taken, they go back to the fact that Mrs. Seelar is a Zionist, and had previously defended the Zionist movement in Palestine at a number of international congresses. And since Syria at the present time forbids the entry of Jews into its territory, in execution of the resolution of the Council of the League, the Syrian legation in Cairo was charged with informing Mrs. Seelar of this.

And in solidarity with her in her anger, Dr. Rydh canceled her visit to Damascus and set about preparing to travel directly to Iraq, then Iran, then Turkey, then Greece.

This conversation between myself and the president of the International Women's Union took place in one of the salons of the palace of Mrs. Huda Shaarawi, and I could not but share Dr. Rydh's regret at not visiting Syria — though I begged her to leave her colleague in Greece and to come and visit Damascus before her return to London. Then we passed into the dining room; the hour had reached half past eight in the evening. I had a previous appointment with one of my Egyptian journalist colleagues, so I had to content myself with a brief talk with the president of the International Union.

She first recounted to us the details of her journey, then spoke to us of the beauty of her country, Sweden, where the sun does not set for six whole months... She passed on in her talk to the mission for which she is touring the capitals of the Middle East, saying that the intention is directed toward holding regional congresses, in view of the impossibility of traveling great distances to hold an international congress; and that during this journey she is sounding the opinions of the presidents of the unions in the countries of the East, so as to fix the place of the regional congress and its date. When I asked her whether Damascus was a candidate to be the seat of the coming congress, she answered with much courtesy and grace:

And who among us does not wish it?... But the decision rests with others, and not with me.

What I have learned is that the regional congress is to be held at the opening of the year 1948, and that the unions of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Transjordan, Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and Greece will take part in it.

As for the aim of these regional congresses, it is to study the conditions of woman in each region, and to study her problems, so as to widen the scope of her renaissance and raise the level of her culture and her thought.

And I said to Dr. Rydh: Do you not see that most of the projects of the women's movement in the world are still nearer to fancy than to reality? Why, then, does the International Union not prepare practical projects that would benefit woman and strengthen her renaissance? Her answer was that the International Women's Union is poor, and there is not in its treasury money enough for spending on such projects. She said also that woman alone tends her own renaissance, despite her helplessness and her poverty, and that had the governments taken a share in encouraging the women's movement, our success would have been greater. In any case, the condition of woman in the world is in constant improvement, and she has already covered great distances on the course of progress: for the first time in the history of France, the Frenchwoman has been given the right to vote, and no long time will pass before we find the women of the world enjoying their political rights in full.

Dr. Rydh spoke to me of the aims of the International Women's Union. She said that the Union aims in the first degree at freeing woman from the social fetters imposed by certain outworn traditions which still stand in many countries; then at facilitating her education; and at demanding her right to the vote.

I felt that the hour was drawing near nine, and that my journalist colleague must be waiting for me at the hotel; so I put to my interlocutor the last question, which was: why does the International Women's Union not think of issuing a magazine in the three languages — "English, French, and Arabic" — to be printed at the seat of the International Union and distributed to the women's unions of the world?!

Dr. Rydh returned to saying that what the Union lacks is money; when sufficient money is available, we shall be able to issue a women's magazine in the three languages; our circumstances at the present time do not permit the issuing of more than one magazine, in English.

Here Mrs. Huda Hanem Shaarawi joined in the conversation, and praised the magazine "The Woman's Voice," which appears in Beirut, saying that it is the finest of the women's magazines appearing in the Arab East. I shared Her Ladyship's esteem, and said that Mrs. Heneni Tarcha has deserved, for her efforts, every admiration, praise, and encouragement; and I assured Huda Hanem that the magazine is meeting with great circulation.

The Woman's Voice: We thank Her Ladyship the venerable leader for her feeling toward this magazine, and we thank Mr. Shaghouri for his generous support. There is no doubt that these two testimonies are what encourages us to march ever forward.