A presentation prepared for "The 3rd International Conference on the History of Arabic Literature" at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, 18th-19th May 2017
---
We can imagine why it was so hard one hundred years ago to make note of a woman writer in a patriarchal closed society, in that time. However, at least, two writers of her contemporaries did that: The Academic Ahatanhel Krymsky (1971-1942) in his book “The History of the modern Arabic Literature” and the woman writer Mayy Ziyada (1886-1941) who believed that Warda's pioneering status can be attributed not only to the male profession that she broke into, but also her support for broader women's rights. Therefore, she went on to teach many courses over al-Yazaji's works.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of publishing Warda al-Yaziji’s poem book “The Rose Garden”, that went on to inspire many women in Middle East. Is it an occasion to reintroduce al-Yazaji today, through the eyes of A. Krymsky and M. Ziyada?