Queen Soraya Tarzi, Queen of Afghanistan was a voice for feminism

A women’s magazine and a women’s organization to protect girls/women from abuse and domestic violence were also founded by Queen Soraya, the Muslim world’s first feminist, who also arranged for young Afghan men and women to take higher education abroad.

Queen Soraya of Afghanistan was the first feminist of the Arab world

Who was Queen Soraya?

Queen Soraya Tarzi of Afghanistan was born on November 24, 1899 in Damascus, Ottoman-ruled Syria and she played a significant role as the Queen of Afghanistan from February 28, 1919, to January 14, 1929. She was the daughter of Asma Rasmiya and Mahmud Tarzi, a prominent intellectual and politician advocating for the modernization of Afghanistan. From the Pashtun Barakzai tribe, Queen Soraya received her education from her forward-thinking father, setting the stage for her future as a trailblazer.

The Tarzi family’s return to Afghanistan coincided with the ascension of Amanullah Khan to the throne in 1919. Amanullah Khan’s father, Amir Habibullah Khan, had called upon Afghan exiles to return to their homeland. It was during this time that Queen Soraya met Amanullah Khan and they were married in 1913. This union marked the beginning of a powerful partnership that would shape the destiny of Afghanistan. Queen Soraya, unlike her predecessors, emerged as a true partner to her husband.

As King Amanullah Khan led the nation through a period of transformation, Soraya stood by his side at various events, from national gatherings to hunting parties and cabinet meetings. Notably, she broke new ground as the first Muslim wife to appear publicly with her husband.

Her influence extended beyond Afghanistan, capturing the attention of the entire Muslim world. In 1928, Queen Soraya received an honorary degree from Oxford University, highlighting her global recognition and the respect she garnered in academic circles. Despite her achievements, the rapid modernization efforts spearheaded by the monarchy faced resistance in more traditional provinces.

Fearing rebellion, King Amanullah Khan made the difficult decision to abdicate, leading the royal family into exile in Rome, Italy. Their last daughter alive, Princess India, daughter of King Amanullah Khan and Queen Soraya, died at 94 in 2023 in Rome. If you look around a Rome you may find the grand-children of King Amanullah Khan and Queen Soraya.

Queen Soraya continued her advocacy for women’s rights and education during the exile, remaining a compassionate and dedicated figure. Her efforts, however, were overshadowed by the challenges faced by the modernization initiatives in Afghanistan. The queen passed away at the age of 68 in Rome, leaving behind a legacy of progressive ideals and dedication to her nation.

Today, Queen Soraya Tarzi is remembered as a pioneering queen who played a crucial role in Afghanistan’s journey towards modernization. Her burial in the Bagh-e-Shaheed mausoleum in Jalalabad, alongside King Amanullah Khan, serves as a reminder of their enduring impact on Afghan history.

This is in stark contrast to Asma al-Assad, the wife of Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad. Asma al-Assad, from London, England, is known for being the Queen of Captagon.

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This is according to the 2012 Arab Youth Survey. Launched in 2008, the annual survey is conducted by research professionals from Penn Scheon Berland (PSB) who travel to villages and cities in order to interview 2,500 young Arab men and women in person. Here is a list of the top 10 concerns that emerged during these discussions.

1. Fair Pay and Home Ownership: The survey found that young men and women are worried about having the resources to own their own home and to receive a fair wage. This is a valid concern. While we were in Tunisia, one of two new countries added to the survey’s scope, we met educated journalists who were living in hovels because their wages are so poor.
2. High Cost of Living: It comes as no surprise that Arab youth are finding it difficult to establish a decent quality of life when the cost of living is steadily increasing. Who can forget that the Arab Spring uprisings were largely spurred by the high cost of food or that energy and water prices are growing prohibitively high.
3. Lack of Democracy and Civil Unrest are Biggest Obstacles: Egypt is a sterling example of how corruption and civil unrest have interrupted the smooth operation of daily life, and young people told researchers that these two things are the greatest perceived obstacles to achieving their goals.
4. The Arab Spring is a Positive Development: This is interesting. Even though the nooks and crannies of the Arab Spring uprisings have not been worked out, most youth perceive it to be a positive development. (On a side note, check out this fascinating new novel Kapow! that traces the uprisings in visually-groundbreaking format.)
5. Increased Trust in Government but Corruption Abounds: While Arab youth are tentatively more willing to put trust in their government, they also very concerned about continued corruption. Let’s hope that the government organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector who avail themselves of these insights are paying attention.
6. The Arab Spring Won’t Spread: This will be a sigh of relief for governments in the Arab world! Most people believe that the uprisings have come to an end and that they are very unlikely to spread. But if they do well up again, Morocco, Jordan and Algeria are the countries most likely to be affected next.
7. Modern Society Challenges Traditional Values: While most young people appreciate the value of their longstanding traditions, the survey found that many also believe that they need to evolve with changing times. This need not be a cause for alarm, but some nations (like Saudi) are likely to crack down on any perceived threats to the old order.
8. Aspire to be like the UAE: The United Arab Emirates has a longstanding policy of social inclusion and are leading the charge to enact massive environmental changes, so it comes as no surprise that this is the nation to which young men and women throughout the Gulf, Levant and North Africa look for inspiration. The survey found that most people – if they could – would live in one of the seven Emirates ahead of any other Arab country.
9. France is the Most Admired Foreign Country: This is intriguing. Of all foreign countries, France, which recently elected a socialist President, is the one that most young people in the Arab world admire. Rising powers China and India, which couldn’t be more different than France in terms of its environmental, political and social identity, fall close behind.
10. TV-watching is Diminishing and News Consumption is on the Rise: This is an enormous relief. Television-watching zombies are being replaced by news-hungry civilians who increasingly look to the internet for their daily bits of information.

Visit ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey 2012 to learn more about the methodology employed to achieve these findings and to consider their implications more fully. The youth are the future. We should take their concerns seriously.

::Arab Youth Survey

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Image credit: Young Arab Man, Shutterstock

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More serious for the sake of public health and peace is the issue of the capital’s chronic lack of green space, which concerned citizens and activists addressed tonight at the Nahnoo office on Salim AlKhoury Street in Beirut. Their strategy? To invade the city with guerrilla picnics.

Nepotism in disguise

Recognized as a public space since the 1840s, two thirds of “Horsh Al-Sanawbar” has been closed to the general public since 1995. Wealthier members of society can gain access to the greenest and most appealing parts of the park through personal favors or connections, but everyone else has to make do with the rest.

Mr. Ayoub says that his is problematic for several reasons.

“Beirut is bordered by five suburbs with different cultural, religious and political backgrounds,” he told us. “The tension between these areas increased in the last five years, especially after the multiple political crises that led to the disruption of security and stability in Lebanese society.”

The dearth of public space in Beirut’s “concrete jungle” seems to reinforce these divisions since opportunities for spontaneous interaction never occur. In addition to creating space for children to play and youth to congregate, Mr. Ayoub says that carefully-planned green spaces can bridge the gap between sectarian divisions.

But the municipality has yet to properly acknowledge the benefit of green spaces.

Green space is an inalienable right

“Former Green line president Salman Abbas launched a campaign, in 1999, to turn the 213,000 square meter Hippodrome and Pine Forest into a public garden,” says Mr. Ayoub. The plan included creating an experimental theater, cafeterias and open-air sports and recreational facilities that would help to generate income.

Even this was not sufficiently appealing to the municipality, which told Abbas that Beirut has enough green space. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 40 square meters of green space per person in a city environment. Beirut only offers 0.8 square meters.

A major campaign raised by Nahnoo has raised the profile of Horsh Beirut and government and media are now paying attention to a subject that has languished under the weight of political and personal apathy. With that weight now lifted and energy among dissenters high, Nahnoo is organizing a series of conferences aimed and educating and empowering youth to engage in civic dialogue.

Unless Mr. Hamad makes good on his promises to open the park following a lively municipal meeting, Nahnoo’s posse plans to invade the city by building a series of green spaces in any nook and cranny imaginable. There they will invite their friends to join them for a picnic as a passive means of drawing attention to the notion that green spaces are a human right that many people don’t know they possess.

There’s nothing sinister or violent about this intervention. This is democracy at its best. It is informed, intelligent and it is gentle. And when this park is won, Nahnoo has plans to open three more.

image via Nahnoo

More on Beirut and the Concrete Jungle:

Beirut’s Rooftop Revolution (Interview)

Beirut Activists Try to Green the Grey of Their Urban Environment

Lebanese Democratically Demand Access to Urban Park

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