Salma al-Malaika
Salma Abdul Razzaq al-Malaika (; 1908–1953) was an Iraqi poet. She wrote under the pen name Umm Nizār about women's rights and patriotism in Iraq. Her first published poem was an elegy for Iraqi poet Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi. A collection of her poetry was published posthumously in 1965 as The Song of Glory (Unshūdat al-Majd). Her daughter was the poet Nazik al-Malaika. Early life and family Salma al-Malaika was born in Baghdad in 1908 or 1909 to a Shīʿite family. Her younger brother Abd al-Sahib Al-Malaika () became a poet and lawyer. Al-Malaika was a teacher of Arabic in secondary schools. She married the poet Sadiq al-Malaika. Her daughter Nazik al-Malaika became a poet and was among the first Iraqi poets to use free verse. Poetry Al-Malaika was an autodidact, educated exclusively in Arabic, but also is thought to have had limited knowledge of Farsi. She was familiar with Arabic poetry, including Andalusian and Umayyad poetry, as well as Arabic history and pre-Islamic literature. She wrote her poetry in secret and did not publish anything until 1936. Following the death of Iraqi poet Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi in 1936, al-Malaika wrote an elegy for him expressing women's gratitude for his women's