Nabila Moustafa

A Lebanese educator who established the first vocational school for Muslim women in Beirut, empowering female economic participation in the 1930s Middle East.

Nabila Moustafa (1908–1975) was a Lebanese educator and social reformer who broke gender and sectarian barriers by founding the Al-Marsad Al-Nisa'i vocational school in Beirut in 1932. At a time when less than 5% of Muslim women were literate, she designed curricula combining religious studies with practical skills like nursing, tailoring, and accounting. Her school became a model for women's education across the Levant, graduating over 3,000 students by 1950.

Moustafa's innovations included creating Lebanon's first women's cooperative union in 1938, which provided microloans and business training. She negotiated with the French Mandate authorities to establish women's sections in public libraries, arguing that "education is the only veil that cannot be torn." Her 1945 report Women's Workforce Potential in Lebanon influenced post-war economic policies, leading to gradual inclusion of women in government statistics.

Her legacy endures through the Nabila Moustafa Technical Institute, still operating in Beirut, and the UN Women regional office's recognition of her work in their 2019 report on Arab women's economic empowerment. Despite her contributions, her name is omitted from most Middle Eastern history textbooks - a reflection of the region's patriarchal historiography. Modern activists cite her as a precursor to contemporary movements like Women of the Year, which she inspired through her advocacy for women's financial independence.