Mrs. Tamam Dawud, her hand in the hand of the Prime Minister after the pinning of the decoration; between them, Miss Blanche; on Mrs. Dawud's right, Mr. Heath, the Ambassador of America; then her son Alfred, and a cluster of the invited guests.
Mrs. Tamam Dawud and her two children, Miss Blanche and Mr. Alfred, gave an invitation on the evening of Wednesday, February 6 last, to a cocktail party attended by a large gathering of official and civic personalities and a company of the family's friends..
It was a pleasant surprise to all when word reached their ears that the first purpose of holding this party was the investing of the lady of the house with the Lebanese Order of Merit, in recognition of her services in the field of translation and authorship.
The decoration was "gilded," and His Excellency the Prime Minister, Mr. Sami al-Solh, was gracious enough to pin it upon the breast of Mrs. Tamam Dawud amid a storm of warm applause.. And the conviction prevailed among those present that Mrs. Dawud was invested with this
decoration on entire merit, particularly since she has behind her a long history filled with giving, as though she had taken upon herself the carrying over of a part of the world's heritage into Arabic — so much so that it has exceeded twelve books, among them: "The Robe," "Love Triumphant," "The Great Son of Babylon," and "The White Woman Lost in the Continent of Asia." She also has in press "The Big Fisherman" and "Eastern Flin," all by famous authors. Mrs. Dawud has likewise written a collection of stories for the young, by which she aimed at straightening the moral crookedness in the souls of our young people.
"The Woman's Voice" extends its warmest congratulations to Mrs. Dawud, wishing her a long and fruitful life, crowned with success and glory.
The University Women's Union, headed by Dr. Zahia Kaddoura, held at the beginning of last month a luncheon at the Alumni Club of the American University, in the course of which one of the leaders of education in Lebanon, Mrs. Faiza Antiba, lectured on education...
And again, on February 27, the 'Association of Women University Graduates,' headed by Dr. Edma Abouchdid, gave a dinner at the Bristol Hotel under the patronage of the First Lady of Lebanon, in celebration of the fourth anniversary of the association's founding...
And we, who appreciate in the university women this activity of theirs, cannot but ask: how long are we to keep two associations in Lebanon? What, one wonders, prevents the joining of the two institutions into a single association, after the example of the forty-eight other countries belonging to the International Federation of University Women? All the matter requires is some largeness of heart and some tolerance — and we have always known the 'university women' to be the very first who ought to possess such qualities.
February last dawned upon us with Miss Samira Azzam in Baghdad — she bade farewell to her family, her friends, and her colleagues in Beirut after signing a contract with the new Iraqi broadcasting station to supervise its literary programs.
We discern in our friend Samira the capacity to fill any post, in broadcasting or in letters; but her parting is hard for us, and we hope that from the inspiration of her new residence in the city of al-Rashid there will come to us tales and flights of fancy for which we now wait.