Widad Sakakini

Widad Sakakini (; 1913–1991) was a writer and critic from Lebanon.
Life.
Sakakini was born in Sidon, Lebanon, in 1913 and studied under the theologian Mustapha Al-Ghalayini in Beirut. She wrote for the literary weekly "al-Makshouf" before marrying poet Zaki Mahasin in 1932 and moving to Syria. There she wrote for her husband's newspaper, "al-Muqtabas".
She published her first book, "Maraya al-nas" in 1945, which may be the first published collection of short stories by an Arab woman. She achieved another first in 1949 with the publication of her first novel, "Arwa bint al-khutub", described as the first true novel published by an Arab woman. The novel tells the story of a woman, Arwa, who is falsely accused of adultery by her husband's brother. She is convicted by a judge, stoned, and banished from Damascus. She suffers many persecutions before obtaining vengeance. Sakakini intended for the book to illuminate the "slander and abasement that women have endured" in Arab society.
In total, Sakakini published five collection of short stories, two novels, and numerous essays, article and criticisms.