The Schools Have Opened

It is a new conquest, in the world of woman; long generations shrank back from it... generations of submissiveness and ignorance!

I saw her — she of the slender heel and the flowing tresses... I saw her striding down the street, heavy books resting against her breast and papers piling high!

And today I heard her knocking at the doors of tomorrow, hopeful, defiant.

She is the girl of this age; in every field she works; in every corner her hands plant goodness — and life!

In the capital, Beirut, a wedding feast is held every day; with the morning, with the waking of the birds... a wedding in whose procession march tender young buds, and youth upon whose arms the mighty dawn of tomorrow is awaited.

And at every sunset, lamps are kindled atop the beacons of this wondrous city, scattering the darkness and raising the banners of guidance and direction... In its corners flower beds have been strewn, whose scent perfumes the air... and for once we walk among these blossoms in their comings and goings, and feel the work in their steps!

Man is afraid, in this age of ours; he fears her, for she has stormed the fields he had monopolized for himself through generation after generation, and he has been powerless to turn her back — and through all the ages he has ignored the fact that the bird of life flies true only on two wings.

Every year the schools of the capital cast forth a new stream, and every day they prepare another weapon — not the weapon our ears have grown accustomed to: it is a kind of explosive that sinks into the depths of humanity, bursting open the springs of its bounty and the hidden stores of its gifts.

The American University of Beirut is a beauty mark on the cheek of the capital; for years past it was reserved for young men, forbidden to the fair sex; today there stroll through its courtyards girl students in the age of roses and the unfolding of hopes. From 264 girl students last year, enrollment has risen to 270 this year, and 69 girls have entered the third university year, against 47 last year; every branch welcomes the girl except the branch of engineering... and perhaps she will knock at its door in the near tomorrow.

Beirut College for Women is a garden of flowers, its fragrance wafting over a green hill; the number of its students has risen from 411 last year to 435 this year, and the door of registration has not yet closed. The College opens wide doors before the girl, through which she may enter whichever her choice falls upon... and it has one branch we have long needed: specialization in woman's natural profession — child-rearing and household management. How happy our homes will be tomorrow, run by the hands of specialists!

Ahliah Girls' College is still turning away numerous applications — not to escape its duty, says its president, Mrs. Wadad Cortas, but for want of room... The number of its students stands at 600, an increase of twenty over last year... It is a stream — nay, a wave — of learning which, if it points to anything, points to the awakening of these young souls in the Arab world.

The French Evangelical College counts among the foremost of the fine institutes in the capital; there the student completes the baccalaureate in both its first and second parts, and the number has risen to 1,030, from 961 last year.

And though the Makassed charitable college graduates the girl at the level of the brevet, it holds 900 students within its walls — and its directress, Miss Zahiyah Dughan, says: 'We were forced to refuse a great number, for lack of room.' At the English College in Beirut a rise in numbers was noted, from 550 to 580, which is the utmost limit; and in this institute, alongside the secondary certificate, there is a branch for the training of women teachers, lasting one or two years.

As for the American School, it is working to add more classes, and will then prepare its students for the baccalaureate — this will not come about for two years; the number of its students stands at 510, against 500 last year!

And if the tour was brief, and if we took the short road, still we did not fail to observe the growing demand, the eager rush upon the wellsprings of learning. The girl will not be content with what she has attained; she will never halt at any limit; she is like the mighty river, in the softness of its water and the invincibility of its current; she is life in motion, defying the past... defying history...

And we, as we cheer this leap that woman has taken, beg her not to forget that she is a woman; and we hope she will unite the ranks of learning, for the good of this homeland and the advancement of its people!