Jihan al-Mosli (Arabic: جهان الموصلي, 1908–1996) was a Syrian educator and politician. In 1960, she and Widad Haroun were appointed to the National Assembly of the United Arab Republic, becoming the first Syrian women to enter parliament.[1]
Jihan al-Mosli | |
|---|---|
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office 1960–1961 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1908 Damascus, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 1996 |
Biography edit
Al-Mosli was born in Damascus in 1908 to Salih Mosli and Fatima al-Sidawi.[2] Her mother died when she was three years old, after which she was raised by her father.[2] Having demonstrated she could memorise passages from the Quran, she was sent to a local girl's primary school. She later attended teacher training college and obtained a baccalaureate in 1927, after which she studied at a higher teacher college.[2] She subsequently worked as a teacher and became headmistress of a secondary school for girls.[3] In 1944 she became secretary of the Association of Women's Associations. Three years later she earned a law degree.
She stopped wearing a veil in the 1940s,[2] and became an activist for women's rights, demanding the right to vote and stand for election.[3] After the Arab Women's Union moved to Damascus, she became a member of its executive office.[2] Having been involved in politics since the 1920s, when she joined a demonstration to support the National Bloc prior to the 1928 elections,[2] in July 1960 al-Mosli was appointed to the National Assembly of the United Arab Republic alongside Haroun.[3] They left the Assembly when Syria seceded from the United Arab Republic in September the following year.[3]