At the Fourth Conference of the General Arab Women's Union

Women of seven states met in Damascus between the ninth and the fifteenth of last September. The participating states were Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, and Palestine...

The Fourth Conference is another step by which the Arab woman plants her foot on the ladder of advancement and progress, and assures the world that she will not retreat and that her constructive revolution marches on with the days.

The first day of the conference was given to introductions, and eyes searched every corner for a new face, or for another face met at previous conferences. The opening ceremony, under the patronage of His Excellency the President of the Syrian Republic, was held in the theater of the Exhibition, and in it the presidents of the seven delegations spoke of the aims of the conference, its history, and the messages their governments had sent to the sister countries. There followed the days of meetings and lectures, all of which turned on the subjects we feel in our society and the problems that beset this society, among them: "The Role of Woman in Forming Arab Nationalism," "Protection of the Family," "Care of Vagrant Childhood," "Protection of Motherhood and Childhood," "The Family in Iraq," "Palestine Speaks," "Compulsory Education," and "The Role of Woman in the Countryside"...

Each of the lectures was followed by a discussion period, in which the listeners could put questions and debate the subject. What may be held against the conference in this respect is the shortness of the discussion periods relative to the lectures... And there is another criticism we hope the women of the Union will take into consideration, namely the cramming of the lectures, so that the audience would listen to three speakers in a single session, without any change or variety in between. Our ladies may ask here about this coloring or variety we have in mind; accordingly we propose introducing some artistic material and original literary subjects — story, prose, and poetry — for thereby the field is opened to the gifted among our sisters in the Arab countries, and at the same time it lends the meetings color and richness... and acquaints everyone with the creative subjects that spring from the minds of the talented, whose number is not small.

And I ask here, as many of those who attended the conference asked: Where are the young? Where are the university women and the women of specialization? Why does the modern girl not help in the affairs of her society? Is it negligence on her part and a want of any feeling of responsibility? Or is it that the associations open no field for these women to work — a thing which, though we ask about it, we do not for a moment believe exists?.. We need, then, the energy of the young women who will take up the torch of the renaissance after its pioneers, the women who spent their lives to kindle it.

And when we speak of the discussion following the lectures, we mean that positive weighing of opinions so as to reach an effective, constructive result; and I cannot but mention that the debate would often grow lively and develop until it strayed from the subject and moved in another direction — and if this indicates anything, it indicates a lack of intellectual harmony, and of that complete attention which follows all that is said... And if we criticize this aspect, we do not deny the complete sincerity that lay behind every word spoken at the conference!

A word of praise is due here to the Syrian government, which gave every attention to the women of the Union, held official banquets and dinners in their honor, and made their presence in its capital the object of its care for the whole duration of the conference!..

A new election had to be held for the seat of the presidency for a term of three years. The contest fell between Miss Ibtihaj Kaddoura, the former president, and Mrs. Adila Bayhum al-Jazairi, who won the election and took over the post Miss Kaddoura had occupied — a post in which she had been the highest example of devotion and self-sacrifice for the good of woman and the quickening of her renaissance... And the address delivered by the new president at the close of the conference was the most eloquent expression of Ibtihaj's consecration, when she said, in effect: I take up the mission for whose fulfillment she labored tirelessly, exerting her utmost efforts to that end; and I pray God grant me the power to carry it to where there is good and safety for all..

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By way of information we summarize here the most important resolutions adopted at the conference of the General Arab Women's Union, which the delegations undertook to convey to their governments and to work to carry out in letter and in spirit:

1 — A call for more women's conferences to strengthen Arab publicity.

2 — Endeavoring to send a delegate of the Union to the United Nations to make the voice of the Arab woman heard.

3 — Unifying the curricula of education in the Arab countries and making education compulsory for citizens, men and women alike.

4 — Raising the standard of rural life.

5 — Care of motherhood and childhood.

6 — Working for the application of collective insurance.

7 — Working for the care and protection of childhood left vagrant in the street.

8 — Demanding legislation to limit incidents of divorce in the family.

9 — Forming committees to supervise motion-picture films, books, and magazines intended for juveniles.

10 — Compulsory military service for all Palestinians.

11 — Tightening the economic blockade of Israel.

12 — Facilitating the movement of the Palestinian in the Arab countries and treating him as a citizen.

13 — Urging the United Nations to work for the return of the refugees to their homes and for compensation for their lost properties..

These resolutions, if they indicate anything, indicate the awareness of the Arab woman and her sensitivity to her own questions and to public ones, and hence her endeavor to treat and solve them for the sake of her happiness. May the new presiding body carry the mission entrusted to it along the same sound steps as before, for the good of the Arab woman and her progress.