The Women of the Arabs

A historical and ethnographic survey examines the legal, social, and domestic conditions of Arab women from pre-Islamic times through nineteenth-century Syria, considering Islamic, Druze, and Nusairîyeh influences on female status. It traces missionary engagement and educational efforts from 1820 to 1872, describes schools and individual student biographies, and reports on medical, religious, and charitable work aimed at women and girls. Chapters address Bedouin life, changing cultural norms, contemporary Syrian views on female education, the amount of biblical instruction in mission schools, and a children’s section that conveys domestic customs and nursery lore.