Rabab Al-Kadhimi
رباب الكاظمي
Born(1918-08-23)August 23, 1918
Cairo, Sultanate of Egypt
Died1998 (aged 79–80)
Occupations
Known forPioneering Iraqi poet
Parent
  • Abd al-Muhsin al-Kadhimi [ar] (father)

Rabab Al-Kadhimi (Arabic: رباب الكاظمي, romanized: Rabāb al-Kāẓimī, also Rabab Al-Kazimi; 30 July 1918 – 1998) was an Iraqi feminist poet and dental surgeon, who is considered a pioneer of women's poetry.

Early life and career

Rabab al-Kadhimi was born in Cairo on 23 August 1918.[1] Her father was the Iraqi poet Abd al-Muhsin al-Kadhimi [ar].[2] Her Tunisian mother, Aisha, died when she was ten years old.[3] Her father encouraged her interest in poetry and she published widely in Egyptian periodicals in the 1920s and 1930s.[4] Some of these writings were so political that both she and her father were threatened with deportation by the Egyptian authorities.[1] Her father died when she was eighteen years old and she was subsequently invited to visit Iraq and attend a memorial ceremony dedicated to his life and works.[3] Her subsequent education the Princess Fawzia School in Egypt in 1936, funded by the Iraqi Ministry of Education.[2]

On Al-Kadhimi's return to Egypt she married Hikmat Chadirji and had a son. However in 1950 she returned to education to study dentistry. She spent time at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, specialising in paediatric dentistry. The couple then returned to Iraq so that Chadirji could take up a post in the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Al-Kadhimi continued to work and by 1956 was the Head of Dentistry for a hospital in Baghdad.[3] The couple returned to Egypt and for several years Al-Kadhimi used her medical training to treat the wounded of the Algerian Revolution. She died in 1998.[5]

Legacy

In literature, al-Kadhimi is considered a pioneer of Iraqi women's poetry.[6][7][8][9] The first works to be collated and sold by al-Kadhimi were published in 1969.[10] However she had already been featured on 'Contemporary Poetesses of Iraq' in the Islamic Review in 1950.[5] She is also viewed as a feminist writer, using her work to draw attention to women's issues.[11]

Highlighting her lack of recognition as a woman, she wrote:

"My act of writing is my wound
And my crime is my knowledge"[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Khulusi, S A (June 1950). "Contemporary Poetesses of Iraq" (PDF). Islamic Review: 40–45.
  2. ^ a b "اخبار – بالفيديو: نساء عراقيات رائدات أثرن في تاريخ العراق". 3 January 2018. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "صحيفة التآخي – عاشت حياتها مخلصة لبلدها .. الدكتورة رباب عبدالمحسن الكاظمي الطبيبة والشاعرة واحدى رائدات النهضة العلمية". altaakhipress.com. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  4. ^ Jones, Kevin M. (1 September 2020). The Dangers of Poetry: Culture, Politics, and Revolution in Iraq. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-1-5036-1387-4.
  5. ^ a b "رباب عبدالمحسن الكاظمي (1917–1998) مفخرة عراقية أشرقت وأفلت في بلاد الغربة | شبكة عراق الخير" (in Arabic). 2 July 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  6. ^ a b ʻĀshūr, Raḍwá; Ghazoul, Ferial Jabouri; Reda-Mekdashi, Hasna; McClure, Mandy (2008). Arab Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide, 1873–1999. American Univ in Cairo Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-977-416-146-9.
  7. ^ Ṭūqān, Fadwá; Nye, Naomi Shihab; Jayyusi, Salma Khadra (1990). A Mountainous Journey: An Autobiography. Graywolf Press. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-1-55597-138-0.
  8. ^ Altoma, Salih J. (1997). "Nazik Al-Mala'ika's Poetry and ITS Critical Reception in the West". Arab Studies Quarterly. 19 (4): 7–20. ISSN 0271-3519. JSTOR 41858218.
  9. ^ Mamdouh, Alia (14 November 2015). The Loved Ones: A Modern Arabic Novel. The Feminist Press at CUNY. ISBN 978-1-55861-937-1.
  10. ^ "IRAK – ÉCRIVAINES". Dictionnaire creatrices. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  11. ^ Efrati, Noga (2011). "Theeffendiyya: Where Have All the Women Gone?". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 43 (2): 375–377. doi:10.1017/S0020743811000122. ISSN 0020-7438. S2CID 162653232.
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