Parashqevi Qiriazi
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Parashqevi Qiriazi (Paraskevi D. Kyrias) (27 May 1886 – 17 December 1970) was an
Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
teacher of the Qiriazi family who dedicated her life to the
Albanian alphabet The Albanian alphabet () is a variant of the Latin alphabet used to write the Albanian language. It consists of 36 letters representing all the phonemes of Standard Albanian: The vowels are shown in bold. The letters are named simply by their ...
and to the instruction of written
Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...
. She was a woman participant at the Congress of Manastir, which decided the form of the Albanian alphabet, and the founder of the ''Yll' i Mengjesit'', a women's association. Parashqevi was also a participant in the
Paris Peace Conference, 1919 Paris () is the capital and largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the fourth-most populous city in the European Union and the 30th most densely pop ...
as a member of the Albanian-American community. She was the sister of Sevasti Qiriazi, who was the director of the first Albanian School for girls in Korça, opened in 1891.


Biography

Parashqevi was born in Monastir (now
Bitola Bitola (; ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing ...
, in the
Manastir Vilayet The Vilayet of Manastir () was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, created in 1874, dissolved in 1877 and re-established in 1879. The vilayet was occupied during the First Balkan War in 1912 and divided between t ...
,
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
(present-day
North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
). When she was only 11 she started to help her brother Gjerasim Qiriazi and sister Sevasti Qiriazi to teach written Albanian to girls in the first school for girls in Albania, the ''Girls' School'' (), which opened on 15 October 1891. She later studied at the American College for Girls at Constantinople. Upon graduation she went to
Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...
to work as an elementary teacher along with her sister, Sevasti at the Mësonjëtorja, the first Albanian school which had opened in 1887. In 1908, she was a participant in the Congress of Monastir and the only woman to be there. In 1909, she published an
abecedarium An abecedarium (also known as an abecedary or ABCs or simply an ABC) is an inscription consisting of the letters of an alphabet, almost always listed in order. Typically, abecedaria (or abecedaries) are practice exercises. Non-Latin alphabet ...
for elementary schools. Although the Congress of Monastir had decided about the new alphabet, two versions of the alphabet were still present in her abecedary, which shows how fragile the consensus of the Congress still was. However, along with the abecedarium, she published some very well known verses on the defense of the new Albanian alphabet: She is also known for having organized teaching for children and night schools in other southern Albania villages and for helping to organize local libraries. She contributed to the foundation of the ''Yll' i Mëngjesit'' association () in 1909 and later, when she had migrated to the US, she continued to publish the periodical with the same name from 1917 to 1920. The magazine was published every fortnight and included articles on Albanian politics, society, history, philology, literature, and folklore. In 1914 she left Albania for
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
along with her sister as a consequence of the Greek occupation of the city. She later went to the United States and became a member of the Albanian-American community, on behalf of which she participated in the Conference of Peace of Paris in 1919 to represent the rights of the Albanians. Parashqevi returned to Albania in 1921, after which she followed political developments there with interest, without losing sight of national aspirations. She became one of the founders and directors of the Female Institution named "Kyrias," after her family, in
Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...
and Kamëz, in cooperation with her sister Sevasti and brother-in-law Kristo Dako. In October 1928, at the initiative of the Ministry of Interior, the organization " Gruaja Shqiptare" ("The Albanian woman") was founded in Tirana, with plans to create branches nationwide and in the diaspora. It was created under the patronage of the Queen Mother and King Zog's sister Princess Sanije. The organization aimed at promoting education, hygiene, and charitable activities, and raising Albanian women to a higher cultural level. As a well-educated woman, Parashqevi succeeded in gaining a leadership position in it. Between 1929 and 1931, the organization published its periodical ''Shqiptarja'' ("The Albanian ), which featured many articles contributed by Parashqevi and her sister Sevasti. The journal took issue with conservative thinking, championing the women's movement and its demands. Parashqevi stood as a firm anti-fascist throughout World War II, starting from the Italian invasion of 1939. Because of her anti-fascist views, she and her sister were sent to the Anhaltelager Dedinje camp near
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
by pro-Nazi units led by Xhaferr Deva. She survived and returned to Tirana after the war, but she and her sister's family then faced further persecution. Because of his past affiliation with Zog, Kristo Dako was posthumously vilified by the
communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...
, and the Kyrias families were forced out of Tirana. Parashqevi's two nephews (Sevasti's sons) would be imprisoned, and eventually one died in prison. The efforts of Albanian scholar Skënder Luarasi and woman politician Vito Kapo led eventually to the partial rehabilitation of the Kyrias sisters. Parashqevi died in Tirana on 17 December 1970.


Published works

The following works are known to have been written or translated by Parashqevi Qiriazi: *"The Albanian Girls’ School at Kortcha". ''Life and Light for Woman'' XXXV, nr. 8 (Boston: Woman's Board of Missions, August 1905). *"The Development of Schools in the Turkish Empire and an Ideal System of Education for Albania", in ''Albania, the Master Key to the Near East'' (Boston: E.L. Grimes, 1919), p. 248-266. (Republished 2020, IAPS, ). *''Abetare për shkollat e para'' (Manastir: Bashkimi i Kombit, 1909). *''Evangjelina: rrëfenjë prej Henry Wadsworth Longfellow përkthyer lirisht prej Zonjushës P. D. Qirias'' (Tirana: Shtypshkronja "Tirana", 1923).


Legacy

* Parashqevi Qiriazi and her sister Sevasti Qiriazi are known colloquially in Albania as "the Qiriazi Sisters" (). They are considered the "mothers of Albanian education".


Further reading

* Toska, Teuta. ''Parashqevi Qiriazi dhe viti i saj 1919''. Tirana: ISSHP, 2020, (winner of the
Academy of Sciences of Albania The Academy of Sciences of Albania (), founded in 1972, is the most important scientific institution in Albania. In the 1980s, several research institutes began at the University of Tirana were transferred to the Academy's jurisdiction. The ins ...
's 2022 "Aleks Buda" prize). * Kyrias-Dako, Sevasti. ''My Life: The autobiography of the pioneer of female education in Albania''. Tirana: IAPS, 2022, . * Hosaflook, David. ''Lëvizja Protestante te shqiptarët, 1816–1908''. Skopje: Instituti i Trashëgimisë Shpirtërore e Kulturore të Shqiptarëve, 2019, (winner of the
Academy of Sciences of Albania The Academy of Sciences of Albania (), founded in 1972, is the most important scientific institution in Albania. In the 1980s, several research institutes began at the University of Tirana were transferred to the Academy's jurisdiction. The ins ...
's 2021 "Trinity of Albanology: Meyer-Pedersen-Jokl" prize – 2nd prize). * Quanrud, John and David Hosaflook.
Were the Kyrias siblings, Kristo Dako, and the Kortcha Girls School Protestant? A response to the re-emergence of a communist-era narrative
. IAPS, 2023 (or in Albanian –
A ishin protestantë vëllezërit dhe motrat Qiriazi, Kristo Dako dhe Shkolla e Vashave e Korçës? Përgjigje ndaj rishfaqjes së një narrative të erës komuniste , Institute for Albanian and Protestant Studies
* Hosaflook, David. ''Precious Alphabet, Precious Fatherland: the Unknown Origin of Albania's Alphabet Hymn.'' Skopje: ITSHKSH and ISSHP, 2018
https://www.academia.edu/37829263/Precious_Alphabet_Precious_Fatherland_the_Unknown_Origin_of_Albanias_Alphabet_Hymn


See also

* Fatbardha Gega


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qiriazi, Parshqevi 1880 births 1970 deaths People from Bitola People from Manastir vilayet Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire Albanian Protestants Activists of the Albanian National Awakening 20th-century Albanian educators Albanian schoolteachers Albanian women's rights activists Albanian suffragists 19th-century Albanian educators Banjica concentration camp survivors Robert College alumni Parashqevi Albanian educational theorists 20th-century Albanian linguists 20th-century Albanian women