Vera Khairallah

Pioneering Lebanese educator who transformed women's access to education in the Middle East

Vera Khairallah (1905-1989) was a visionary educator and social reformer from Lebanon whose work laid the foundation for modern women's education in the Middle East. Born in Beirut during the French Mandate period, she witnessed firsthand the gender disparities in access to education. After earning degrees in pedagogy from Sorbonne University in 1928, she returned to Lebanon to establish the first coeducational school in Beirut's southern suburbs in 1932. Her innovative teaching methods included integrating vocational training with traditional academics, a model later adopted by UNICEF in regional education programs.

Khairallah's most significant contribution came with the creation of the Arab Women's Education Network (AWEN) in 1947, which established 47 schools across Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan by 1960. She pioneered night classes for working women and developed the first Arabic-language curriculum for adult literacy programs. Her 1953 publication Education as Liberation became a foundational text for feminist educators across the Arab world. Despite facing opposition from conservative sectors, she secured funding from Rockefeller Foundation grants and UNESCO partnerships. Today, the Vera Khairallah Institute for Women's Leadership (VKIWL) continues her work, operating 12 regional centers. Her legacy is preserved in the AWEN Digital Archive and through the annual Vera Khairallah Prize for Educational Innovation.