Paulina Hassoun

Pauline Hassoun, Arabic: بولينا حسون (1895 - 1969) was an Iraqi-Jordanian journalist and teacher, who was the first woman to found and publish a magazine in Iraq.

Paulina Hassoun
Born1895
Died1969
OccupationJournalist, editor, teacher
Notable worksLayla (magazine)
Years active1923-25

Biography
Layla, Issue 4, January 15, 1924 WDL342

Hassoun was born in Jordan in 1895 to an Iraqi father and a Syrian mother. Her family moved between Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Jordan, before she settled in Baghdad.[1] There, she was a founding member of the Women's Awakening Club.[2][3] Her cousin was Salim Hassoun, who was the owner of the newspaper Al-Alam Al-Arabi.[2]

Interested in journalism, Hassoun founded Layla in 1923 as a magazine that would publish "everything new and useful related to science, art, literature, society and housekeeping".[1][4] The first issue was published on 15 October 1923.[5] The magazine ran for two years, with a final issue published on 15 August 1925.[5] Hassoun closed it due financial reasons and since anti-feminist campaigns against her forced her to leave Baghdad.[2][6] She left in December 1925.[2] The magazine is considered "Iraq's first feminist journal".[7] She also worked as the head teacher of a girl's school in Baghdad.[8] Little is known of her later life and she died in 1969.[1]

Legacy

Hassoun is considered Iraq's first woman journalist and a feminist pioneer in the country.[6]

References
  1. "صحفي - ولادة رائدة في الصحافة العربية ... بولينا حسون .. أردنية المنشأ عراقية الأصول*نبال خماش". 2016-03-05. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  2. "الصحفية بولينا حسون روفائيل رائدة الصحافة النسائية في العراق". 2020-03-07. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  3. Mohammed, Ibtisam Humoud (2021). "The Iraqi Women's Renaissance Club and Its Impact on The Development of Cultural Awareness of Women (1923-1932)". Journal of Al-Frahedis Arts. 13 (45 | Third Part).
  4. Akhoun-Schwarb, Dominique. "Layla : first Iraqi women's magazine (1923-1925) – What's new? The latest news and resources from SOAS subject librarians". Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  5. "From Layla to Nina, the legacy of Iraq's first magazine for women reborn today". Nina Middle East. 2015-01-12. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  6. Dougherty, Beth K.; Ghareeb, Edmund A. (2013-11-07). Historical Dictionary of Iraq. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7942-3.
  7. "Women's Movement in Iraq Faces Setbacks! – Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI)". Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  8. Hanna, Fadi (2015-06-25). "Paulina Hassoun". Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
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