Lulwah Al-Qatami

In 1938, at the age of four years old, Al-Qatami joined kindergarten.[1] She continued her primary education in Iraq, after her family left Kuwait.[1] In 1952 she travelled to England to study at a French convent school, where she learnt French and English.[2] After two years she moved to an English school to study for O-Levels and A-Levels, at the suggestion of her father who believed an English education would be more useful to her when she returned to Kuwait.[2][3] She studied English and French at the University of Edinburgh.[3] Whilst there, she was Vice President of the Student's Union.[2] As a result she was the first woman from Kuwait to attend university overseas.[3][4]

In the early 1960s she led a tour for women students from Kuwait to Jerusalem.[3] Her teaching career started teaching English and French at the Mirqab School for Girls, where she was the first female teacher to not wear an abaya at work.[3] At the time it was compulsory for all women teachers to wear a black abaya, Al-Qatami led protests against the rule, which included the public burning of abayas.[3] The protest was a public scandal in Kuwait, but resulted in the rule being lifted, enabling women to wear their other clothing.[3] She subsequently described the abaya as "a tool of colonialism".[5] During the visit of the Algerian revolutionary Djamila Bouhired to the school, Al-Qatami encouraged students to donate their jewellery for the cause.[6]

In 1963 Al-Qatami was a founding member of the Kuwait Women's Cultural & Social Society.[7][8][3] The first President was Dalal Al-Mashaan, but later Al-Qatami took over the role.[2] From 1963 to 1992 she was a member of its General Assembly.[9] Part of her work with the society was to ensure that there were enough classes and resources for young women who could not afford to attend private schools.[3] In addition to the Society's educational work, they also funded relief work with refugees from Lebanon and the Sudan.[3] Al-Qatami organised the fundraising to build a refugee camp in Sudan for people fleeing from the Eritrean-Ethiopian War - it included a school for 1000 children and a bakery which provided 50,000 baguettes each day.[3]

In 1975 Al-Qatami was appointed as the first Director of the College of Women at Kuwait University by the Minister for Education.[2] She resigned from her position in 1993 in protest in the increasing prevalence of women wearing the niqab there.[10] However during her time at the University she introduced a women's only prayer room for students.[10] In 1990 she was appointed as an UNESCO ambassador for literacy.[11][9] She has spoken about the negative impact of British colonialism on Kuwait, especially in relation to education - in particular for women.[12]

• Vimeo: بعد ٤٦ عاماً .. لولوة القطامي تشاركنا رحلتها عن مؤتمر المكسيك
• Youtube: لولوة القطامي: علاقتي مع جيهان السادات لم تكن جيدة