Zulaikha Abd ar-Rahman Abu Risha (born 1942; Arabic: زليخة أبو ريشة) is a Jordanian poet and activist. She has been a vocal advocate of women's rights, particularly concerning making the Arabic language more gender-inclusive.

Early life and education

Zlaikha Abu Risha was born in 1942 in Acre, a city in what is now Israel.[1][2] She describes herself as having Palestinian, Jordanian, and Syrian roots.[3]

She studied Arabic literature at the University of Jordan, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1966 and a master's in 1989.[2][4] She later pursued a doctorate at the University of Exeter, where she wrote her thesis on "Women in Arabic Feminist Literature"[4][5]

Career

Abu Risha is perhaps best known for her work as a poet and fiction writer.[6] She has been considered a prominent member of the Jordanian literary scene.[7][8]

In 1987, Abu Risha published the short story collection In the Cell, for which she won a prize from the University of Jordan.[4][6] She has also written at least 10 books of poetry beginning in 1998, as well as a book of autobiographical essays, Ghajarul ma'a, in 1999.[5][6] And she has produced several works of children's literature, as well as a 2002 academic study of the genre, Towards a Theory of Children’s Literature (2002).[6]

Through hosting events in which refugees told folktales, she produced the book Timeless Tales: Folktales Told by Syrian Refugees, containing 21 folk stories.[7][9]

Abu Risha also writes nonfiction on feminist criticism, literature, art, and gender and language. She has been a columnist for newspapers and magazines in Jordan and across the Arab world.[6] She has also served as editor of the magazines al-Mu'allim/at-talib (published by UNESCO/UNRWA) and Al-Funun (an art journal published by the Jordanian Ministry of Culture), and as director of al-Warraqat li-d-dirasat wal-buhuth, a feminist publishing house.[4][6] In 2019, she served as a judge for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.[6]

She has also worked as a university lecturer[6] and served as director of the Center for Women's Studies in Amman, Jordan.[4]

Abu Risha is also known for her work as a human rights and women's rights activist.[6] She has fought to make the Arabic language more inclusive of women, writing two books on the subject: The Absent Language: Towards a Gender-Neutral Language (1996) and The Language Female: Papers on Discourse and Gender (2009).[4][10][11] Her women's rights advocacy since the early 1980s has made her a target of extremist groups, which have sought to incite violence against her.[10][12] She has also been the target of lawsuits from Amman's Public Prosecution Office for comments on Islam.[1][12]

References

  1. 1 2 "Rights group calls on Jordan to drop lawsuit against poet". The New Arab. 2021-11-13. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  2. 1 2 "زليخة أبو ريشة". Jordan Ministry of Culture (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 2016-05-19.
  3. ↑ Timeless Tales: Folktales Told by Syrian Refugees (PDF). The Hakawati Project. 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Members of the Jury - Ibn Rushd Prize for Freedom of Thought 2002". Ibn Rushd Fund Website. 2002-12-14. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  5. 1 2 "Contributors - Zuleikha Abu-Risha". Banipal (UK) Magazine of Modern Arab Literature. Spring 2002. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Zulaikha Aburisha". International Prize for Arabic Fiction. 2019. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  7. 1 2 Kaplan, Jeff (2020-10-29). Involuntary Motion: The Somatics of Refugee Performance. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-20406-3.
  8. ↑ Khoshman, Afaf A. "To Teach Students to Learn, Teach Philosophy". The University of Jordan News. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  9. ↑ "9 Short Stories by Syrian Women, in Translation". Arablit. 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  10. 1 2 "Zulaikha ABURISHA". Hay Festival. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  11. ↑ "Zulaikha Abu Risha". Life and Legends. 2017-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  12. 1 2 "Jordan: Authorities must guarantee poet Zulaikha Abu Risha's right to free expression". ARTICLE 19. 2021-11-12. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
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