Friday, March 09, 2007

BENGHAZI HONORS HER PIONEER DAUGHTER

Hameda Mohamed Tara khan حميدة محمد طرخان was born in Benghazi in 1892. Her father sent her at an early age to be educated in Turkey. She obtained a diploma from L’Ecole Superiure des filles of Istanbul. She was the first Benghazi girl who completed her education in Turkey, and she mastered both Turkish and French languages . When she returned to Benghazi in 1915, during the Italian occupation, she opened a class in her father’s house to teach Benghazi girls Arabic language and religion. This was her private battle front to bring out her fellow sisters from ages of darkness, superstition and rotten traditions to the enlightened twentieth century. In 1920 she married Abduljalil Al Anesi عبد الجليل العنيزى, and became known as Hameda Al Anezi حميدة العنيزى . Her husband was an ex Libyan officer in the Turkish army, educated in Turkey and served in Syria. He was educated and enlightened, he knew he married a special woman with a mission and a will of steel and gave her his full support.
In 1924, she was appointed a teacher of Arabic language in the first official Italian girls' school, and negotiated strongly and patiently with the girls parents to let their daughters come to school.
During the British Mandate in 1943, she became the first headmistress of the first elementary girls' school in Benghazi, later in the fifties she became the Director of Girls Education in Cyrenaica.
In 1950, she opened the first girls' secondary education class in Benghazi and in 1956 she assisted in founding the first Girls' Teachers College in Benghazi.
In 1954, she founded the Women’s Renaissance Society of Benghazi to become the first women’s movement in Libya. Later in 1957 another Women’s Society would be formed in Tripoli and both would form the Women’s Movement Union of Libya in the sixties.
She assisted in founding the Society of the Blind in Benghazi and was a great partisan of their cause, and a member of the Board of Directors.
She had no children of her own so she gave her love and care to all girls in need, and practically adopted the orphan girls because of WW2.
She continued her role as a pioneer woman with her sisters in Libya and in the Arab world until she died in 1982.
She is simply the first to teach Benghazi girls reading and writing and the first to found a Women’s Society. The first who opened new avenues to Benghazi girls to become teachers, nurses, radio broadcasters, girl scouts, and join the university and become doctors, layers, engineers and even to go abroad for higher education.
She was honored by the Revolution on the Day of Gratitude يوم الوفاء in 1989 and her name was added to the Honor Roll List, and there was a post stamp issued in her honor.

On the occasion of 8th March this year, and under the banner of OLD BENGHAZI CITY SOCIETY, some active ladies of the grateful generations that Hameda Al Anezi taught and guided organized a A DAY OF REMEMBERANCE in her honor.
The meeting was held in the building of Jamiat Al Dawa جمعية الدعوة الإسلامية and attended by members of the Local Community both official and civic, representative of Tripoli women’s union, members of her family, scholars, poets and members of the public. The lecturers made an excellent presentation of the great history of her life as A PIONEER, AN EDUCATOR, A REFORMER and A FOUNDER OF CIVIC BOTH SOCIAL AND CHARITY SOCIETIES.
Poet Dr. Hania Al Kadeki الشاعرة الدكتور هنية الكاديكى
- suffering from an accident – insisted to recite her poem standing because she can’t talk about Abla Hameda while sitting down, and she moved us all.
Poet Badria Al Ash hab الشاعرة بدرية الأشهب
recited a fantastic poem of praise telling of the Libyan women that left their traces in our history as fighters and supporters to their fellow men, and I can’t honestly give her enough praise. She was simply TOO GOOD, beyond my feeble words.

ABLA HAMEDA WAS DESCRIBED AS THE MOTHER OF ALL LIBYAN WOMEN أم الليبيات , I WOULD ADD THAT SHE WAS ACTUALLY THE MOTHER OF ALL LIBYANS FOR A BETTER LIBYA.

DOESN’T HAMEDA AL ANEZI DESERVE TO BE REMEMBERED BY US?

(The meeting ended by a recommendation requesting that either a girls' school, a college or a university hall should be named after her name.)

3 comments:

princess of smiles said...

ooooh really it`s very nice post mahhe bengazi bs tkaddem eleehteram welwaffaa leshaksea kef om ellibyat kel elle yagra elpost wa kel elnass el tkader hea shen thafat lelmoshtamaa wa ellybee alla wajeh elkosos

Anglo-Libyan said...

that was even better than what I read on a libyan website about this honourable lady, another Libyan that makes us proud of our country.

Omar Gheriani said...

Thanks princess and anglol for ur comments and yes Omm El Libbyat contributed greatly to the progress of women in Libya. Just try to imagine the beginning!