The Palestinian Kulthum Odeh (1892 -1965) the
first woman to hold the professor title in the Arab world
The Palestinian woman who married a Russian and imprisoned for
criticizing Stalin in public
By Iqbal Tamimi / Palestinian journalist and researcher
Many times I have been reading articles written by Israelis claiming
that when Israel was established, the Jews came to a land (Palestine)
where there aren’t many people, or there were few uncivilized groups
more like Bedouins, and that the Jewish state brought civilization and
prosperity to Palestine.
Every time I read such ridiculous comments I feel outraged. That’s why I
wanted to talk about the Palestinian intellectuals who happen to make
the highest percentage of educated nation in the Middle East before even
‘Israel’ was born. Palestinians make the highest percentage of
population to acquire high academic qualifications in the world compared
to the total number of population. This is why I wanted to share with
others the biography of one of many prominent Palestinian academics.
This lady was the first lady in the Arab world to hold the title of a
Professor and to establish an institute in Russia.
This biography tells the story of an Arab Palestinian Christian woman
from Nazareth by the name of Kulthum Odeh (1892 -1965). Kulthum is a
role model of many determined Palestinian women seeking progress and
change against the odds.
Many Palestinian figures from Nazerath are proclaimed Arab literature
and culture academics. Such as Mikhail Naima, Wadeea Albustani,Nicola
Ziyadah, and Kulthum Odeh who migrated to Russia 1914, to become one of
the greatest icons of literature and language studies of Arab culture.
She was self-confident to a point she criticized Stalin for his policies
when he recognized the establishment of the Jewish state in Palestine,
this lead to her immediate imprisonment. She was not released until her
Russian academic friends intervened.
Kulthum Odeh was born April 2, 1892 for a well known family of Nazareth
in the Roman neighbourhood. She was the fifth daughter for her father
‘Nasr Odeh’, who was hoping to become a father for a male earl, a son
who will keep the family legacy. But he was disappointed for the baby
born was a girl and not a pretty one too.
Kulthum wrote about her life: "My arrival to this world was met with
tears, for everyone know how Arabs like ourselves feel when we are told
about the birth of a female, especially if this unfortunate girl happens
to be the fifth of her sisters, and the family has not been blessed by a
boy. Such feelings of hatred accompanied me since an early age. I do not
recall my father ever being compassionate with me. The thing that
increased my parents’ hatred to me was the fact that they thought that I
was ugly. This is why I grew up to avoid talking, evading meeting
people, and focussing only on my education. "
Kulthum wrote about how her mother and all members of her family used to
call her names for being silent most of the time, and how her mother
used to remind her all the time that she was ugly, dark skinned, thin,
and that there is no chance of her getting married. Her mother told her
many times that she will end up as a maid serving her brother’s wife for
the rest of her life. Such continuous degradation increased her
determination to continue her studies and attempt to change her mother’s
prophecies.
Kulthum finished her primary school education in Nazareth, and moved to
the "Russian seminar" collage in the city of Bait Jala. The Russian
Seminar used to house female teachers then. One of her lecturer was the
late Khalil Sakakini who happens to be one of the Palestinian icons in
the field of Arabic literature. Sakakini had a direct influence on her
education and her progress afterwards.
She was sixteen when she finished her schooling, and when returned back
to Nazareth to work as a teacher at the Russian Association. During that
period an Assembly of inspectors used to visit the schools, they were
sent by the Russian society.
She started then publishing articles in several magazines such as
"Alnafaes Alassryah" in Haifa, "Alhilal" in Cairo, and "Al-Hasnaa" in
Beirut. During that period, the Palestinian press witnessed a great
bloom especially in Jerusalem, Haifa, and Jaffa. 50 Palestinian
newspapers were circulating at that time.
During her work in education she met the well acclaimed Russian
orientalist Raczkowski, who visited Palestine between (1908 -1910). He
stated in his book titled "with the Arabic manuscripts": I met Kolthom
Odeh in Nazareth; she was working then as a new teacher alongside other
works she has been doing for Arabic language related studies.
While his wife Vera Karachi Wskaia wrote about her husband's visit to
Nazareth in Palestine, mentioning that he was introduced to two teachers
from the Palestinian society schools, both of whom finished their
education at Al- Seminar school at the city of Beat Jala, and that both
teachers accompanied her husband in his tours around Nazareth. She
mentioned Kulthum Odeh as one of those teachers.
Kulthum fell in love with the Russian doctor Ivan Vasilev who worked at
the General Hospital in Nazareth, and they were married 1913. They fall
in love and decided to get married regardless of the many barriers
between them like traditions and language. Kulthum was 22, but her
family opposed the marriage strongly. She talked about those memories to
the Palestinian poet Abdelkarim Al-Karmi known by the nickname (Abu
Salma) when they met in Moscow 1957. She told him that some members of
her family requested of a bunch of brutal young men to push her from the
roof top of her family home to get rid of the shame she brought onto her
family by deciding to marry a foreigner. She only thanked her father's
cousin, Najib Odeh who stood beside them, for he accompanied her and Dr.
Ivan Vasilev to Jerusalem, where they tied the knot and had their
wedding ceremony at the Russian church in Jerusalem. Najib then
accompanied her and her husband back home to Nazareth. Her family could
not do anything then for she was married at the church. And later on she
accompanied her husband back to Russia.
After the October revolution and the outbreak of the civil war in Soviet
Russia, Dr. Ivan ‘Kulthum’s husband’ volunteered with the Red Army. But
he fall ill 1919 by the break of typhoid epidemic and died after 5 years
of marriage, leaving his wife and their three young daughters struggling
on their own. Kulthum worked the land to provide for her daughters, and
continued her academic education assisted by a number of Russian
Orientalists, lead by Kraczkowski, who met her earlier in Palestine.
She did not give up and continued to study and work at the same time.
She became a lecturer of Arabic language at the University of Leningrad
(Petersburg) after she has acquired her PHD 1928. After that she founded
the institute of Arabic dialects at the University of Moscow. She was
the first Arab woman to hold the professor title.
Kulthum visited Nazareth 1928 and went round Palestine and was welcomed
by a number of Palestinian pioneers, thinkers and writers of "Al-saaleek
Cafe," that used to be a forum for Palestinians intellectuals in
Jerusalem. Amongst them was Khalil Alskakini, Adel Jabr, Lindly Saliba
Aljawzi,and Georgi Halabi.
Kulthum defended the right of her people. When the Soviet Union
acknowledged the state of Israel in 1948, Kulthum sent a strong letter
of condemnation to Stalin. The feedback came instantly by an order of
imprisonment. But her Russian academic friends headed by the famous
orientalist Kraczkowski stood by her and secured her release. According
to her family members, she was arrested and detained at least twice
during the Stalin reign.
Kulthum also trained to become a nurse after arrival to Russia. Then
during the wake of the socialist revolution in October 1917 she was
awarded a piece of land to help her make a living. In addition to this
work Kulthum was teaching farmers and laborers about their rights
amongst other things. Then worked as a Professor of Arabic at the
Faculty of Oriental languages at Saint Petersburg 1941, and had obtained
a doctorate degree in 1928 for a thesis dealt with the subject of
‘Arabic dialects’.
Kulthum, became a renowned name and a reference in the Russian academic
circles, and published several books about learning and teaching Arabic
language. She has also translated several books from Arabic to Russian,
besides publishing a series of articles in a number of Arab magazines
like the Egyptian magazine Al - Hilal.
At the early years of the forties she felt home sick and went back to
Palestine to visit her family.
Many Senior Palestinian figures came to visit her and welcome her back
home
They were headed by the late Alhaji Ameen Husseini, who requested of her
to stay in Palestine and work at the Palestinian Education Ministry.
Kulthum asked him if he can guarantee her safety should she remain in
Palestine especially that she was a Marxist, and Palestine was under the
control of the British mandateShe told him how the British Mandate
personnel’s were worried of her return back to Palestine, and how they
were watching her and every move she made, as if she was a spy.
Alhaji Ameen Husseini pointed to his beard then and said: "Oh my
daughter I cannot guarantee you anything, I can’t even guarantee the
safety of my own beard". So, she returned to Russia.
After World War II, Kulthum moved to Moscow, where she continued
teaching at the university, and was an active member of the Association
of Soviet cultural relations with Arab countries. She won the "Medal of
Honour" 1962 on her seventieth birthday, and before that she won two
gold medals in recognition of her research and efforts.
She died on the 24th of November 1965 and buried in a famous cemetery
for VIPs in Moscow, her grave head stone was engraved in Arabic, and the
words translates‘ An example for the living to follow’.
One of her prominent students was thr Russian writer Molood Attalov who
later published many studies about the economics of Liberal Arab States.
He was one of several Russian translators, who graduated from her
Institute.
The renowned poet, journalist and thinker Salem Jubran wrote ‘The
Biography of Kulthum is about a great talented, hardworking woman. She
has dedicated her life to research and study of the classical Arab
culture, thus constructing a bridge of knowledge between the two great
civilizations, the Russian and the Arab world’.
The life and struggle of Kulthum is almost like many Palestinians, her
family then was forced to exile. Her cousins headed towards Damascus,
while her nieces ended up as immigrants in USA. The rest of her family
was getting ready to immigrate to USA. That meant they should not have
any contact with her, any contact with a Russian figure then would have
killed their chances of being allowed to enter the USA. Such
circumstances have frozen her relationship with her family even further.
During her work in Russsia she could not go back home to Palestine, but
Palestine came to visit her. She was visited by many renowned Arab and
Palestinian figures, especially the socialist writers, like the poet and
writer of Nazareth Tawfeeq Ziyad, and the Palestinian writer and
journalist Emile Habibi, and the historian, politician, and writer Dr.
Emil Touma who happens to be one of the most prominent Arab
intellectuals of the twentieth century. He held leadership roles in the
Communist Party in Palestinian. He was born in Haifa 1919, and lived
there until his death in 1985. His life journey was similar to that of
Kulthum. He was dedicated to research, creativity, and struggle for a
just peace and human freedom. When he died he left behind an inheritance
of more than 15 books, a legacy of theoretical and practical thought for
promoting peace, justice, liberty and human dignity.
Palestine was never a primitive empty place as the Zionists try to
portray it. As a matter of fact one of Kulthum’s cusions known as Abu
Saleem, was a theatrical artist. He performed 24 plays on Alnahda
theatre stage in Nazerath until 1948, and then it was closed down by the
new Zionist state. The renowned theatrical figure in the Arab world
Yosif Wahbi came from Egypt to watch some theatrical events in Nazerath,
he was there watching the last performance of the Palestinian play ‘ The
confession chair’, when Israel decided to re write the Scenario and
change the Palestinian scene for ever.
Kulthum contributions were in the fields of history of Arabic
literature, the theatrical language, and comparative literature. She
also published a book about teaching Arabic language titled "Arabic for
Russians," and another book titled "The chosen of modern Arabic
literature". She has also translated several Arabic literature works to
Russian such as "land, labour and water", written by Thi Elnoon Ayub
Al-Iraqi. And translated also from Russian to Arabic like a book written
by Raczkowski through which he discusses the work of Mohamad Ayyad
Tantawi, 1810 – 1861.
During that era the translation from Russian into Arabic was flourishing
in Palestine, many Palestinians contributed in this field like Faris
Nicola Maduuar, Abdel Karim Samaan, Lutfallah Khouri Sarraf, Soliyman
Bolos, Ibrahim Jabir, Bandali Saliba Aljawzi, and the students of
"Alscimenar Russian" school in Beit Jala. A significant number of those
translations were published in magazines like Alnafaies Aladabiyah
"Literary valuables" which was established by the editor Khalil Beidas,
who happened to be the first prisoner of the uprising in 1919.
Iqbal Tamimi / Palestinian
journalist – UK
E mail iqbasl@yahoo.com
Mobile 00447947650061
landline 00441173732557