Laya Al Shehri

Saudi Arabia's first female school principal who secretly educated girls in her home during the 1950s, paving the way for women's education reforms.

Laya Al Shehri (1925–2010) defied societal norms by operating an underground school for girls in Riyadh from 1953-1962. Using her home as a classroom, she taught over 200 girls basic literacy and arithmetic, often under threat of arrest in a society where formal female education was illegal. Her covert efforts were supported by progressive members of the royal family, including Princess Noura bint Abdulrahman.

Al Shehri's 1960 petition to King Saud for girls' schools led to the first "Women's Training Institute" opening in 1964. She became its first principal, expanding enrollment to 800 students by 1970 through innovative programs like evening classes for married women. Her 1968 memoir "The Pen is Mightier Than the Hijab" (published pseudonymously) became a clandestine bestseller among Saudi women.

Today, the King Abdulaziz Public Library houses her original lesson plans, which show how she integrated Islamic studies with modern subjects like geography. Her legacy is reflected in the Saudi Ministry of Education's 2009 policy mandating girls' access to all educational levels. Al Shehri was posthumously awarded the National Order of Merit in 2012.