Muammad Jamil Bayhum and the woman question: Between social and political rights

This article sheds light on Muammad Jamil Bayhum's (1887-1978) activities and vision, and his historiographical writings on women which have received little scholarly attention. In this respect it is not a comparative study of Bayhum's interpretations or the historical reality of women's lives but rather a re-assessment of Bayhum's historical oeuvres, and his synthesis of women's history. The article examines the ways in which Bayhum's historical writings, which were part of his political and national vision, contributed to constructing a local Muslim and Arab historiography of women during the 20th century. It presents Bayhum as an advocate of women's social and political rights, who favored the recognition of women as citizens (or their counterpart in modern Lebanese and Arab societies), both during the period of French colonialism and in the post-colonial era.