... In Tripoli there are the harbingers of a women's renaissance, scholarly and cultural, whose echo has until now remained far from the pages of "The Woman's Voice." Our thanks to our friend Jihan Gazawi Aony, who wished to make good this omission and acquaint the readers with the faces of this blessed renaissance. We are pleased to present, in her first reportage, three of the elite of the ladies of Tripoli, answering questions put to them on
women's affairs among us...
1 — What are the qualities that please you in the contemporary Lebanese woman, and those that do not please you in her?
2 — Do you see in her storming of the fields of work something that weakens her feminine
personality, or something that con
A cheerful face greets you in her, breathing reassurance and confidence into the heart of the patient. She strove until she realized the idea of building a model hospital on the most modern medical and technical lines; and about a month ago she received the gilded Lebanese Order of Merit, in appreciation of her services and in encouragement of her professional gifts.
firms it?
3 — What are your wishes for her, and what do you warn her against?
Dr. Hadiya al-Rifai:
1 — The Lebanese woman has many merits. Among them: she is self-sacrificing in her devotion as a wife, great in her sacrifice as a mother, strong in her emotions as a woman, with a high brow crowned by dignity and self-respect; and her delicate sensibility and her patience in bearing pains, whether of body or of spirit, make a full record that bears witness to that great soul.
What does not please me in some of them — and I say it with regret — is smallness of personality and lack of self-confidence, so that we find the woman stripped of dignity, resigned to the painful fate imposed on her by her natural disposition and
her social position; and we see her, her muscles gone slack, her nerves collapsed, her thinking weakened, until she has become a corpse without a soul, tossed about by the waves of selfishness and ignorance, crying out in panic and fear for someone to extend a helping hand, begging rescue — and the deep casts her moaning onto distant shores, where humiliation, ignorance, and deprivation dwell.
2 — For the woman to enjoy a strong and attractive personality she must storm the various fields of work, so as to acquire broad experience of noble works. This storming is ambition itself: by its means she learns, and through learning she becomes cultivated and grows strong morally, spiritually, and materially. And before long we see before us none other than a noble working woman with her head held high, confident in herself as a complete human being, able to carry her social and family mission in the fullest manner. Then shall we have the right to glorify the hero, for he is of her making, and to bow our heads before the great genius, for greatness springs from her inspiration.
3 — My wishes for her are that she respect herself courageously; that she be bold in her thinking, frank in her opinion, far from fantasy, a lover of truth, firm of resolve, a just educator and a faithful wife; that she be a useful, working member of society. And I hope she will continue on her way with a steady step forward, without hesitation, until she reaches her desired goal — that she be that captain who steers his ship with all precision, skill, and knowledge until he brings it, safe