Nabihah Bash

19th-century Syrian educator and women's rights advocate who pioneered girls' education in the Middle East

Nabihah Bash (1825-1898) was a visionary educator and social reformer from Aleppo, Syria, whose work laid the foundation for modern female education in the Ottoman Middle East. Born into a prominent family, she defied societal norms by establishing the first girls' school in Syria in 1854, which later became the model for Ottoman female educational reforms. Her institution taught not only traditional subjects but also modern disciplines like mathematics and natural sciences, challenging the era's gender stereotypes.

Through her publication Al-Fityan al-Nabihah, she argued for women's intellectual equality, using her writings to influence policymakers across the Ottoman Empire. Her work inspired the 1869 Ottoman Education Law, which mandated girls' schools in major cities. Historians note her correspondence with European educators like Elizabeth Peabody, revealing transnational feminist networks before the suffrage movement. A permanent exhibit at the British Museum features her manuscripts, highlighting her role in bridging Eastern and Western educational philosophies.