that work for the public good, to raise up this homeland.
Therefore I appeal to you, daughters of my sex, not to work for the love of show and leadership; rather let
your aim be work that benefits woman and the country, and remember that no nation will rise unless there arise from among its sons and daughters those who awaken the lost human meanings.
The condition of the East will not change except with a change in the condition of its women. The responsibility laid upon your shoulders is very great indeed, especially in this stage through which the Arab countries are passing, and you will not be able to shoulder the burdens of this responsibility unless you possess a measure of learning and culture joined to integrity of soul and soundness of character.
Arm yourselves with moral courage — that rare quality, that strength of soul which does its duty without fear or hesitation, and pays no heed to the talk of the ignorant nor to deceptive appearances.
Nature has singled you out with diverse gifts; may you use them for the good of humanity. Every flower is known by its fragrance even if we do not see it; the gentle violet, hidden behind its green leaves, announces itself by its intoxicating perfume.
And just as every flower has its own fragrance, different from every other, so must your lives be filled with the fragrant deeds of humanity that leave a beautiful trace whose perfume never fades.
May each one of you be a spring of unbroken permanence, winning with its laughing, sweet-scented blossoms.
O fresh flowers of spring: walk with firm step along the road of progress and civilization, and with your patience and forbearance lift away the thorns strewn in your faces, that the saying of Confucius may be fulfilled in you: "Woman is the most perfect thing in creation."
Don't you remember her — how she forgot her pains and her aches and clasped you to her breast to lift away from you the fear that beset you at your coming into this strange and wondrous world? She felt that a piece of her heart lay cut to pieces between her hands, yet she smiled at you and kissed you with warmth, tenderness, and affection; then she went about defying the sun, the moon, and the stars, boasting of you — a fresh rose perfuming with its fragrance the whole space of her life!
However woman may vaunt herself and hold her head high, however she may deck herself out and perfume herself, before her child she is that meek and humble creature, that compassionate servant, she who forgets the world and all that is in it and turns to him with her heart and her soul!
The newborn comes into this existence, and the first breaths to pass over his brow, the first kiss to be printed on his cheek, the first arm to enfold him, are his mother's; the first word his lips murmur is "Mama," and the last word with which he cries for help in the hour of death is "Mother"... Had woman been nothing in this world but a mother, that alone would suffice her for honor, greatness, glory, and pride!
Don't you remember her — how she would sing to you that you might sleep, while you would cry to wake her? Yet instead of being angry with you, she felt that her happiness lay in your waking her from her deep, quiet sleep.
Don't you remember that all-embracing tranquility, that overflowing tenderness, which you enjoyed nowhere but in your mother's bosom?
Don't you remember her, when you lay bedridden moaning with fever, how she watched your every motion and every stillness with attentive, gentle, tender eyes? Don't you remember that she found a thousand and one excuses for your faults and your shortcomings, and that she alone saw your ugliness as beauty, your ignorance as understanding, your waywardness as genius! Don't you remember that she was the one person who took your side when troubles assailed you and calamities grew great and the scorching wind seared your soul — she withstood the whole world and set about upholding you with confidence and faith lest you fall, and warded off from you the defiance of the adversaries who stood mocking, clamoring, gloating, longing to tear you to pieces!
Don't you remember that she was the faithful advocate who never betrayed you in any cause, the loyal commander who never left you alone in any battle, the tender consoler who never abandoned you in misfortune and never forgot you in your sorrows and your joys; and that she is always yours and with you — whether you reached the summit of the mountain of glory and greatness or sank into the depths of the valley of failure and defeat, whether you became a national leader pointed out with pride or the leader of a band of thieves, the head of a monastery or the head of a gambling den, a master ruling thousands or a slave ruled by thousands!
You came into this world at the cost of her body, and how happy she would be to leave this world with her eye upon your eye and her hand in your hand. You were her life within life, and she will remain your guardian angel
after