The educational reforms of the nineteenth century, a period of sweeping social, economic and political transition, resulted from various undercurrents occurring at different levels within the realms of the Ottoman Empire from the Mashreq (Greater Syria) to the Maghreb (North Africa).
By the middle of the century, a sense of "...awareness and obligation for intellectual and social consciousness, especially the appreciation of women's plight, and the struggle for a voice in society became visible and public.
The Ottoman regime, in order to counteract the threat of political and religious influence from the Christian missionary schools and due to the realisation that the empire could not hope to survive without learning the modern natural sciences, began to implement its own reforms (tanzimat).
[6] The third (and arguably the most important) current that led to the existence and improvement of women's education in the nineteenth and early twentieth century was due to European colonialism and its legacy.
[7] Under the leadership of Muhammad 'Ali, an admirer of French innovation and technology, interactions and exchanges between Egypt and France in the cultural, academic and scientific fields increased during his reign[8] Indeed, it was not just male students who spent time abroad.
[15] Moreover, women such as Mayy Ziyadah and Mary 'Ajami went on to pursue higher education in Europe, returning to set up well-known salons and contributing immeasurably to literary circles, print and production in the Arab world.
Women of the urban middle and upper classes were confined to the domestic sphere,[16] and the vast majority remained unseen and unheard in public life.
Necessity afforded female members of the lower and rural classes slightly more 'freedom', as they were needed to work the land in order to support their families.
The salon and its male participants, many of whom were well-known intellectuals, provided them with a means in which to express their ideas and opinions in private, whilst accessing the male-dominant public sphere through their lively discussions and debates.
"[19] The essays and letters produced by hostesses and participants of the salons on the topics discussed also had a considerable impact on society at the time, and in particular, the nurturing of the Arab Renaissance and women's emancipation.
Men also began to acknowledge the importance of women's emancipation to national liberation and development at this time,[22] and there is no doubt that increased interactions between male and female intellectuals within literary circles made an invaluable contribution.
However, ten years later, al-Jam'iyya al-'Ilmiyya al-Suriyya (The Syrian Scientific Society) was established, and attracted Western-educated Muslims and Druze as well as Christians.
In 1917, the Tunisian literary figure, Hassan Hosni Abdel-Wahab wrote about the urgent need for educated Muslim young women to take charge of the future and to 'awaken the nationalist spirit', as without this, 'life would turn to nihilism and its consequences'.
Moreover, in 1890, one of the French salonnières, Eugénie Le Brun, chose to hold a salon evening in Cairo in an effort to learn more about women's circles in Egypt, and to encourage the revival of the tradition.
In a similar fashion to the salons in Cairo, topics such as religion, philosophy and history would be discussed, but it is noted that Rambouillet "...made sure the treatment of the subject was not heavy-handed.
[39] One of the less well-known salons in Beirut, for example, was convened on three consecutive full-moon nights each month, where male and female guests stayed awake until dawn, enjoying the entertainment and lively literary discussions.
[42] The salon evenings were also regarded as arbiters of music and literature, as well as places were social and political ideas were aired and discussed, and where guests could embrace new trends and fashions exported from Europe.
There was something unique about these salon sessions, according to the historian Keith Watenpaugh, who lends a description of a salon evening: "...soirées were unrelated men and women circulated with one another freely, and where Christians and Muslims, who shared a similar educational background, drank and smoked cigarettes—rather than sharing a nargileh (hookah pipe)—together while they sat in straight back chairs around high tables..."[41] The tone and topics of discussion were usually at the discretion of the salonnières or hostesses, who administered the conversation.
The habitual gathering offered a private realm in which male and female guests could mingle, network,[41] and discuss the fashionable topics of the time.
[9] Regulars at the salon included prominent literary figures and politicians, such as Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi, Qustaki al-Himsi, Rizqallah Hassun, Kamil al-Ghazzi and Victor Khayyat.
Like Maryana Marrash, Fādil added to the ambience in her salon by playing the piano, while one of her male guests sang and her Tunisian maid danced.
[47] Among the regular visitors to her salon was the renowned Islamic Reformist thinker, Sheikh Mohammed 'Abduh, as well as Qāsim Amin, Boutros Ghali and Saad Zaghloul, to name but a few.
[50] The salon provided local journalists, officials, officers, politicians and European diplomats with an opportunity to network and discuss literary, social and political issues.
[55] A Syrian Christian journalist, Salim Sarkis, a typical representative of the educated middle class clientele who used to frequent the gatherings, attended Ziyadah's salon, which was held on Tuesday evenings for twenty-three years, 1913–1936.
The journalist gives the reader a rare insight into the atmosphere of the salon in the following description: In the evening of every Tuesday the house of Mr Ilyas Ziyadah, the owner of Al-Mahrusah newspaper, turns into a luxurious house in Paris, and his daughter Mayy, the Syrian young woman who is still in her twenties, into Madame de Staël, Madame Récamier, A'ishah Al-Ba'uniyyah, Walladah bint Al-Mustakfi and Wardah Al-Yaziji.
[1]The salon evenings ended after her mother's death in 1932, as social pressure would not permit an unmarried woman to enjoy the company of men without members of her family present.
/ The best elite of the East and West in nobility and erudition seek protection under your boundless wing...[57]Sha`arawi's salon only met sporadically, but was well-attended by many famous political figures and intellectuals; including Ahmad Shawqi, Gabriel Taqlā and Muhammad Husayn Haykal.
Sha`arawi used to award a literary prize every year, and would also encourage young writers from her salon by sending them to study in Europe at her own expense.
That said, The Women's Literary Club, which was founded by Mary 'Ajami in 1922, continues to run in Damascus, and was attended regularly by the novelist Ulfat Idilbi until her death in 2007.
The popular event held on Monday evenings, named Bayt al-Qasid (House of Poetry), was an opportunity for new voices rather than established poets or writers, and attracted both Syrians and foreigners.