Mulleres na Lexicografía / Women in Lexicography

Zaynab Fawwaz Al-Amili

Arabic

1860 (Tabine, Lebanon) - 1914 (Cairo, Egypt).

As a young girl, she worked as a maid in the palace of ʿAlī Bey al-Asʿad al-Ṣaghīr. There she was mentored by Fāṭimah al-Khalīl, the prince’s wife and a poet, who recognized and nurtured her intellectual potential. Later, while living in Damascus with her second husband, Adib Nazmi al-Dimashqi, she founded a literary salon where, due to wearing the niqab, she participated in discussions indirectly through her husband as intermediary. After moving to Alexandria, she expanded her knowledge through figures such as Sheikh Muhammad Shalaby, Hassan Hosni al-Tuwarani, and Sheikh Mohieddin al-Nabhani. She became a student of Hasan Husni Pasha Al-Tuwayrani, the poet and owner of Al-Nil magazine, under whose guidance she began publishing numerous articles in leading local newspapers such as Al-Moayyed, Al-Nile, Al-Ahali, Al-Liwaa, Al-Ustaz, and Al-Fata. Alongside Aisha Taymur, she was among the earliest Arab women to express themselves publicly through writing. Her writings, which spanned poetry and art, boldly criticizied the degarding views on women and their roles in society. Her commitment to feminist principles was also evident in her broader projects. She was thus recognized as the first female voice to call for women’s awakening, rights, and equality with men. Zynab collected and translated statements and stories from 456 notable women from around the world and across different periods into a comprehensive, 552-page biographical dictionary titled the "book of Scattered Pearls Regarding Categories of Women" (1894, Cairo: Al-Maṭbaʿa al-Adabiyyah), deliberately omitting herself. This monumental work highlighted the achievements of women globally. Her literary contributions didn't stop there. Zaynab made history with her play 'Love and Faithfulness'. The first play written by an Arab women writer.

The most relevant lexicographic work is: Fawwaz, Z. (1891). Al-Durr al-manthūr fī ṭabaqāt rabbāt al-khudūr [The Book of Scattered Pearls Regarding Categories of Women]. Cairo: Al-Maṭbaʿa al-Adabiyyah. It is 552-page biographical dictionary of 456 women’s achievements; notably, she omitted herself, focusing on celebrating other women. She also published several works including: Fawwaz, Z. (1893). Al-Hawā wa-al-Wafāʾ [Love and Faithfulness]. Beirut: Al-Maṭbaʿa al-Ahliyyah. Fawwaz, Z. (1899). Ḥusn al-ʿAwāqib: Ghādat al-Zahrāʾ [The Happy Ending]. Cairo: Maṭbaʿat al-Hilāl. Fawwaz, Z. (1905). Al-Rasāʾil al-Zaynabiyya [The Zaynabian Letters]. Cairo: [Publisher not identified]. Fawwaz, Z. (n.d.). Madrāk al-Kamāl fī Tarājim al-Rijāl [The Perception of Perfection in the Biographies of Men]. Cairo: [Publisher not identified]. Fawwaz, Z. (n.d.). Al-Jawhar al-Naḍīd fī Maʾāthir al-Malik al-Ḥamīd [The Precious Jewel in the Virtues of the Praised King] [A xoia preciosa nas virtudes do rei eloxiado]. Cairo: [Publisher not identified]. Fawwaz, Z. (1905). Al-Malik Qurush [King Cyrus][O rei Ciro]. Cairo: [Publisher not identified].

Photo of the dictionary’s cover “Al-Durr al-manthūr fī ṭabaqāt rabbāt al-khudūr [The Book of Scattered Pearls Regarding Categories of Women]. (1981). Cairo: Al-Maṭbaʿa al-Adabiyyah): الدر المنثور في طبقات ربات الخدور - مكتبة مركز الإمام الألباني Photo of dictionary’s entry “ Al-Durr al-manthūr fī ṭabaqāt rabbāt al-khudūr [The Book of Scattered Pearls Regarding Categories of Women]. (1891). Cairo: Al-Maṭbaʿa al-Adabiyyah): الدر المنثور في طبقات ربات الخدور : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

https://youtu.be/amP_LXyG-qQ?si=2wK_AJynNIQMdneN

She is the first woman's voice calling for the women's awakening and defending their rights, humanity, and equality with men. Her novel "حسن العواقب/Ḥusn al-Awaqib", (The Happy Ending, 1899) is considered the first novel in Arabic written by a woman. Her play, "الهوى والوفاء/Al-Haawa wa al-Wafa" (Passion and Fidelity, 1893), is the first play written in Arabic by a woman.

Booth, M. (2019). Forgetting and Remembering the Fearless Zaynab Fawwaz. In: ARABLIT & ARABLIT. Retrieved on the 20 October 2025. https://arablit.org/2019/08/23/forgetting-and-remembering-the-fearless-zaynab-fawwaz/ Booth, M. (2021). The Career and Communities of Zaynab Fawwaz: Feminist Thinking in Fin-de-siècle Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192846198.001.0001 Fawwaz, Z. (2025). In the history of the women’s movement in Lebanon. Retrieved on the 20 October 2025. https://womenshistoryinlebanon.org/timeline/zaynab-fawwaz-writer-and-historian Fawwaz, Z. (2025). In Wikipedia. Retrieved on the 20 October 2025. Zaynab Fawwaz - Wikipedia Photo of Zaynab Fawwaz: Wikipedia. Retrieved on the 20 October 2025. Zaynab Fawwaz - Wikipedia

Alaa Hassan

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