Fatma Al-Yusef (),Sullivan, p 172 /ref> also known as Roz Al-Yosef () (1898 –10 April 1958),"The Arab Human Development Report 2005: Towards the Rise of Women in the Arab World," p 102 was an
Egyptian
''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
born journalist and stage-actress, a pioneer of Arab female journalism and a patron of the Arab female press. She is considered the Arab world's first woman journalist.
Biography
Fatma Al Youssef was born in Tripoli, Lebanon to a Turkish
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
family. She received her primary education in Tripoli. Her mother died at birth, and she arrived in Egypt with her father when she was 10 years old. Her father then went on to live in
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
and left her with the Christian family of Lebanese born Egyptian Eskander Farah, who had a major impact on her life, and especially on her choice to choose the acting profession. She began appearing at age 14. Initially, only in small roles, but her breakout came when none of the actresses agreed to play an old woman role, and Al-Yusuf took it upon herself.
From 1912 to 1925, she was a well-known theatre and work actress as part of the
George Abyad
George Elias Abyad (5 May 1880 – 12 February 1959) was a Lebanese actor. He acted in Egyptian theater and cinema, and starred in the first Egyptian musical film, ''The Song of the Heart''.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, he immigrated to Alexandria, ...
troupe and the Yussef Wahbi troupe (1898–1982) reaching the peak of fame between 1923 and 1925. Her success won her the nickname the " Sarah Bernard of the East" and praise from Egyptian and international critics. She also became a favourite of the high society.
In 1925 she founded the news magazine ''
Rose al-Yūsuf Rose al Yusuf or Rose al-Yūsuf may refer to:
* Rose al Yusuf (journalist) (1898–1958), a Lebanese born journalist and stage-actress
* ''Rose al Yusuf'' (magazine), an Arabic weekly political magazine
{{disambiguation ...
''. The magazine, which did not hesitate to use in illustration of caricatures, became popular and addressed taboo subjects such as religion and sexuality, frequently narrating the '
flapper
Flappers were a subculture of young Western women prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...
-age' of Egyptian society. This Cairo weekly, which continued despite the death of its founder in 1958, stood out in 1994 as one of the rare Arab journals to dare to publish extracts from the
Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses are words of "satanic suggestion" which the Islamic prophet Muhammad is alleged to have mistaken for divine revelation. The first use of the expression in English is attributed to Sir William Muir in 1858.
The words praise the ...
of
Salman Rushdie
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...
.
Legacy
Through her work she succeeded in breaking social and political conventions and boundaries, and shattering prejudices imposed on women during her time, depriving them of their right to self-expression and their integration into the political and social arena.
Rose El Youssef, unique in her time, has become an emblematic figure of the Egyptian press and theatre and of the Cairo context in the interwar period. A documentary entitled ''The Legend of Rose al-Youssef'', was produced in 2002 by Mohamad Kamel al-Kalioubi .
''The Arab Human Development Report 2005: Towards the Rise of Women in the Arab World'' described her as a ''"pioneer of the stage and one of the earliest actresses."'' and said that she "was a woman unique in her time." She had said "I made this woman myself."
* ''The Arab Human Development Report 2005: Towards the Rise of Women in the Arab World''.
Stanford University Press
Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It is currently a member of the Ass ...
, 2006. , 9789211261745. The cited chapter i Chapter 3Archive
* Sullivan, Earl L. ''Women in Egyptian Public Life'' (Contemporary Issues in the Middle East Series).
Syracuse University Press
Syracuse University Press, founded in 1943, is a university press that is part of Syracuse University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Domestic distribution for the press is currently provided by the University of North ...