So much for the myth that before Wahhabism, Muslim women were very free.
From 1953:
The Queen of Libya
by Nel Slis, Associated Press correspondent, who became the
first western journalist to be received by the queen in her palace
-Benghazi, Libya (Ass.Press) ---- Fatima-al-Sjifa, queen of Libya, is one of the most elegant queens, but perhaps the least known. She is married to Idris, the first king of Libya, who is 20 years older and a first cousin of hers. Both belong to the tribe of the Senoessi, a religious sect which has followers in every country in North Africa.
The 43-year-old Queen Fatima was brought up in Arabic-speaking countries, mostly in Egypt. She does not speak any foreign languages, but understands a little English.
Before her marriage, she had a role dealing informally with men, and scores of British officers remember how she played tennis in shorts. Since she became queen of Libya, however, she has led the life of the typical Libyan woman, strictly separated from all men.
"It will be a slow and gradual process before the Libyan women attain emancipation", she told me, "But the Libyan girls are very much longing to learn and to win their freedom."
Queen Fatima, small and elegant in her black clothes, which were made for her by Christian Dior, spoke Arabic, which was translated by her lady-in-waiting, the beautiful 24-year-old Mrs Selma Dajani, a Palestinian, whose husband was one of King Idris' advisors.
Queen Fatima spends the greatest part of her time in the small palace just outside the war-battered city of Benghazi, and one of the two capitals of Libya. King Idris, who himself comes from the province of Cyrenica, prefers to live here than in the more cosmopolitan co- capital, Tripoli.
Queen Fatima, who was receiving a journalist from the west for the first time, said she was pleased that there was interest abroad for her poor country, which had suffered so much from the war.
It is hard for one to imagine that the elegant queen, who would attract attention in any society and would command respect, is a descendant of raw (sic) Arabs who, like the forefathers of her consort, whose fourth spouse she is, were in the habit of roaming through the desert.
Tranquil and smiling, Queen Fatima told via her lady-in-waiting of the journey she had recently made through Europe and during which she visited Germany, France and Spain. Her eyes began to shine when she spoke of her visit to southern Spain, Andalusia, where she found the Arab influence very striking.
She spoke of the future possibilities for the emancipation of Libyan women. Instead of playing tennis in shorts, she is currently obliged by her royal rank to go back many centuries and live the life of seclusion ... of 99 percent of Libyan women.
The women of Libya live a more concealed life than their sisters in other Arab countries. They are dressed in the barracan, a hand-woven wool or silk cloth - the material depends on their circumstances - in which they wrap themselves up in such a way that only one eye is visible.
Only if she goes abroad does the queen live like a western woman, dressed in European clothes, and then a visit to a fashion show or to the Folies Bergère in Paris - where she has indeed been - fascinates her just as much as any other woman in the world.
Having to dress in the barracan is perhaps harder for her than for all her Libyan sisters, in view of the fact that she knows the freedom of the west.
The wife of the leading statesman in Libya, premier Mahmoed Moentasser, for example, never comes in contact with the world.
But this is simply the Mohammeden law, which in its most orthodox form forbids the woman to be seen by a man other than her husband, and concerning the husband - the woman sees him for the first time after the elaborate marriage ceremony, which lasts a week.
Queen Fatima however believes that Libyan women will make important progress in a subsequent generation on the road to freedom. They will be able to study and go abroad.
While a Sudanese, dressed like a European butler, served exquisite, sweet and creamy cakes, she said "we have many good American friends and one of my greatest wishes is to visit the U.S. one day".
"If I were to go to the United States", Queen Fatima went on, "I would dearly like to fly, but" - as she added here - "the king won't fly".
King Idris does not like either flying or sailing, but he has still accepted an official invitation to himself and the queen to make a visit to Turkey this spring, a country with which Libya is linked by many historic, religious and emotional bonds."
As quoted in:
Hellcat of The Hague: The Nel Slis Story / Caroline Studdert
