Fatma El-Arbi

A Tunisian educator and activist who pioneered girls' education and gender equality reforms in 19th century North Africa.

Fatma El-Arbi (1830–1899) was a Tunisian educator who founded one of the first girls' schools in North Africa during the reign of Bey Muhammad III as-Sadiq. Born into a scholarly family, she challenged traditional norms by advocating for women's access to education and literacy. Her school in Tunis provided girls with modern curricula, including science and mathematics, defying societal expectations. El-Arbi collaborated with reformist leaders like Khayreddine Pasha to modernize Tunisia's educational system. Her work laid groundwork for Tunisia's 1956 post-independence gender equality laws. Read more on Wikipedia or Tunisian government archives.