Bchira Ben Mrad

بشيرة بن مراد

1913 CE · 1331 AH† – 4 May 1993 CE · 1413 AH †

† Hijri date derived by computation from the Gregorian/Julian date; it may differ from the transmitted date by a day or two.

Tunis

Tunisian feminist and nationalist activist (1913–1993), daughter of the shaykh al-Islam Mohamed Salah Ben Mrad. In 1936 she founded the Muslim Union of Tunisian Women (UMFT), the first Tunisian women's organisation, and chaired it until its dissolution in 1956. Raised in a scholarly household and taught by Zaytuna shaykhs, she wrote in her father's journal Shams al-Islam and in the Tunisian press for the education of Tunisian girls and for women's part in the national movement, before being pushed aside from official women's work after independence.