Salwa Salem
| Salwa Salem | |
|---|---|
| File:Salwa Salem.jpgSalwa Salem.jpg | |
| Born | 1940 Kafr Zibàd, Mandatory Palestine |
| 💀Died | 5 March 1992 (aged 51–52) Parma, Italy5 March 1992 (aged 51–52) |
| 💼 Occupation | |
Salwa Salem (1940-1992) was a Palestinian writer and activist.
Early life
Salem was born in Kafr Zibàd, a village in Palestine close to Jaffa. Her family had to abandon their home in 1948 due to the Arab–Israeli conflict and took refuge in the city of Nablus in the West Bank. There she spent part of her youth in a lively cultural climate. She became involved in activism through her brother, who was arrested several times for his political commitment to Palestinian rights. Simone de Beauvoir inspired her to study existentialism at university. Through reading, she was confronted with many female role models from her own culture and from the Western ones, by which she was influenced, developing a determined personality and a strong desire for affirmation and freedom.
Activism and adult life
Salem rebelled against the restrictive gender roles of her culture, refusing the family imposition of the Hijab. At fifteen, she joined the Ba'ath party, a secular and socialist party that believed in the economic unity of the Arab world. There, she began to organize meetings and student strikes. She organized a demonstration against the British consulate, during which the police killed a classmate and wounded Salem in the leg.
Life abroad
After graduating from a women's college in Ramallah, she decided to join her brother in Kuwait. From 1959 to 1966, she taught literature in a women's school and studied philosophy at the University of Damascus.
In 1966, she married and moved to Vienna. There, she learned German and completed her degree, returning to Damascus to take her exams. The hostility of the Austrians and the exile imposed by the Israeli victory in the Six-Day War led her to move to Italy with her family in 1970. In Parma, she returned to active politics, specifically raising awareness of Palestinian oppression and engaging in solidarity with the First intifada.
Writings
- With the Wind in Her Hair: Life of a Palestinian Woman
References
Bibliography
- Mokeddem, Malika (1990). Gente in cammino (Giunti ed.). Florence. p. 318. Search this book on
- "Ogni volta l'emozione di un inizio nuovo" [Every time the emotion of a new beginning]. Università Ca Foscari di Venezia. Deportate, esuli e profughe (in italiano). Archived from the original on 17 September 2016.[non-primary source needed]
- "Salwa Salem "La Signora gentile"". Toponomastica femminile.[dead link]+"Salwa Salem "La Signora gentile"". Toponomastica femminile.[permanent dead link]
- "Memoria non ipocrisia. Con il vento nei capelli". Donne e conoscenza storica. Archived from the original on 2006-06-09. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
- "Storia e letteratura della Palestina: alla ricerca di una patria perduta".[not in citation given]
- Mediterranean crossroads, Migration letterature in Italy. London: Faileight University Press. 1999. pp. 121–129. Search this book on
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