Julya Tu’mah Dimashqiyyah: One of the first leading women journalists in Lebanon

Born in the Mokhtara village, Mount Lebanon, Julya Tu’mah Dimashqiyyah is often referred to as the first woman journalist in Lebanon. She founded the monthly magazine al-Mar’ah al-Jadidah (The New Woman, 1921) in Beirut, which went on to be published for seven years. Her magazine was among the most respected magazines in Lebanon (1)Emily Ibrahim Fares, الحركة النسائية اللبنانية, Beirut, Dar al-Thakafah, p. 109.. She usually addressed women in her column entitled “To the daughters of my country,” where “she called upon women to occupy their rightful place in society.” (2)ʻAnbarah S.Khālidī, Tarif Khalidi, Memoirs of an Early Arab Feminist: The Life and Activism of Anbara Salam Khalidi, London, Pluto Press, 2013, p. 118.. She played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Lebanese Women’s Union. She married Badr Dimashqiyyah, a Muslim man; their inter-faith marriage was deemed revolutionary at a time when inter-faith marriage was not socially accepted (3)Hanifa Ali al-Katib, تاريخ تطور الحركة النسائية في لبنان وإرتباطها بالعالم العربي 1800-1975, Beirut, Dar al-Hadatha, 1984, p. 106.