Fatma Al-Azm

Syrian educator who established the first coeducational school in Damascus in 1935, defying strict gender segregation norms.

Fatma Al-Azm (1905–1998) revolutionized Syrian education by founding the Al-Hikmah School in 1935 – the first institution in Damascus to educate girls and boys together. Born into a family of religious scholars, she challenged conservative traditions by advocating for women's education through her 1932 publication <《The Right to Knowledge》, which argued that Quranic principles supported female literacy.

Her school's innovative curriculum included sciences, arts, and vocational training alongside traditional subjects. By 1940, Al-Azm had trained over 300 female teachers through her Teacher Training Institute, creating a ripple effect across the region. Despite facing death threats from religious extremists, she expanded her network to include 12 schools by 1950, educating 2,000 students annually.

Al-Azm's advocacy extended into political realms when she became Syria's first female parliamentary candidate in 1949, though her bid was blocked by legal restrictions. Her 1960s partnership with UNESCO helped establish teacher training programs in Yemen and Jordan. The Fatma Al-Azm University now bears her name, continuing her mission to educate 10,000 students annually in STEM fields.

Her legacy is preserved in the Syrian Education Museum, where her handwritten lesson plans and correspondence with Egyptian feminist Huda Shaarawi are displayed. Al-Azm's work laid critical groundwork for the 1970s reforms that mandated primary education for girls nationwide.