Rabab al-Sadr Charafeddine (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: رباب الصدر; born 4 April 1944) is a Lebanese activist and president of the Imam al-Sadr Foundation. She is the sister of disappeared Shia imam and political leader

Musa al-Sadr Musa Sadr al-Din al-Sadr (; ; 4 June 1928 – disappeared 31 August 1978) was a Lebanese-Iranian Shia Muslim cleric, politician and revolutionary In Lebanon. He founded and revived many Lebanese Shia organizations, including schools, charities ...

Early life

Rabab al-Sadr was born in

Qom Qom (; ) is a city in the Central District of Qom County, Qom province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. The city is ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

on 4 April 1944. Her father, Sayyid Sadr al-Din al-Sadr, died when she was nine years old. In 1959, at the age of 15, she and her brother moved to

Tyre, Lebanon Tyre (; ; ; ; ) is a city in Lebanon, and one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It was one of the earliest Phoenician metropolises and the legendary birthplace of Europa (cons ...

, their ancestral home.

Education and family life

In her youth, al-Sadr studied fashion design and painting at an Italian university. She completed a doctorate in philosophy in 2017, with the topic "The practical philosophy of the imam Musa al-Sadr". She is the sister of political leader, Shia imam and Amal Movement leader

. Al-Sadr was married to Hussein Charafeddine at age of 16. They have four children, including Raed Charafeddine and Najad Charafeddine. She has eleven grandchildren.

Career

Al-Sadr is the president of the Tyre-based Imam al-Sadr Foundation, a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

in southern Lebanon. The foundation traces it roots to the ''Dar al-Fatta'' ("Girls' House") founded by Rabab and Musa al-Sadr in 1962, three years after their arrival in Tyre. This organization taught women skills such as knitting, embroidery, housekeeping, and first aid. After Musa's disappearance on 31 August 1978, Rabab took over the management. Since then, the foundation has grown to its current state, providing education, social, and health services. During the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

, al-Sadr traveled Lebanon trying to convince women to not let their male family members partake in the war, as well as offering guidance and services to those affected by the war. Also during the war, she negotiated for the release of victims of kidnapping on both sides. On 13 August 2017, al-Sadr was awarded the Grand Cross of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

for her cooperation with the organization.

Memoir

The book ''Miriam'' (میریام) is the memoir of Mrs. Rabab Sadr, the sister of Musa Sadr and the director of the charitable and social institutions founded by him in 1963. These institutions, established by Musa Sadr, the Iranian leader of the Shiite community in Lebanon, focus on supporting orphaned girls in southern Lebanon. The compilation process of the book ''Miriam'' has been extensive and prolonged. Apart from two initial sessions held in 2012 in Tehran, further interviews were delayed due to her presence in Lebanon. Ultimately, through multiple trips to Lebanon, 12 sessions were conducted between 2014 and 2015, alongside four additional sessions in Tehran during the same period. Subsequently, 18 sessions were held to review the text, accompanied by two supplementary interviews in 2022 in both Lebanon and Tehran.

References

External links

Imam al-Sadr Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadr, Rabab Lebanese anti-war activists Lebanese women activists Living people 1944 births