Melia Sakakini

Melia attended the Arab Orthodox School in the Old City of Jerusalem.2 Later, she pursued teacher training at the Russian Teachers’ College in Beit Jala near Bethlehem, which was established and run by Russian missionaries.3 The Russian Teachers’ College operated schools and seminaries to educate Arab Orthodox Christians and train teachers who would then work in Orthodox community schools across Palestine and Syria.

The Russian Teachers’ College was among the few institutions that afforded young women the opportunity for professional preparation as educators. Graduates were considered highly qualified and often appointed as head teachers or supervisors in girls’ schools.4 Indeed, when Melia graduated in the 1910s, her training equipped her to become a teacher and later, the head teacher of a school in Jerusalem.

When she graduated from the Russian Teachers’ College, Melia was still unmarried, which gave her the independence and freedom to engage in the public sphere.5 She remained single all her life.

Sometime between 1909 and 1913, Melia taught at the Dusturiyya School. Her brother Khalil established this progressive school in 1909 with a more modern, secular curriculum that fostered critical thinking and development of the students’ personalities through self-expression. She was one of the school’s first teachers.6

From 1928 to 1938, she taught at a Muslim girls’ school in Jerusalem associated with the Social and Moral Care (SMC) network.7 Her employment at the school reflected a broader trend: Palestinian Christian women were often hired in Muslim girls’ schools because they were viewed as highly qualified and less likely to spark tensions between Muslim students. Indeed, her credentials as an educator secured her position, as there were many staff reductions throughout her time in the Muslim school.8

By the early 1930s, Melia had advanced to headmistress of the school, which was quite remarkable for a woman to accomplish at a time when employment in professions requiring higher education was mostly reserved for men. Indeed, Melia was among the early generation of Palestinian women professionally trained to teach, and this was possible because Jerusalem itself was one of the few cities in the region with educational institutions for women beyond primary level.9 It was also one of the only cities to offer women employment, making it a magnet for upper- and middle-class women seeking work.10 In this way, Melia’s achievements as headmistress were unprecedented for her time, showcasing her commitment and skill.

Melia’s teaching became the foundation of her activism. Her goal was to raise educational standards for Palestinian girls.

By extension, she advocated women’s participation in public life. In 1921, she and Zulaykha Shihabi established the first Arab Women’s Union Club, pushing forward women’s political and social organizations.11 In 1929, she cofounded the Arab Women’s Association of Palestine, working alongside other key figures such as Zahiya Nashashibi.

In October of that year, she led a group of women in a march to protest the Balfour Declaration in Jerusalem, an emblematic event of Palestinian women’s resistance. The Buraq Uprising had just taken place in August, a violent event which led to widespread British suppression of Palestinians. In response, Palestinian women organized the first major women’s nationalist protest in Jerusalem. Melia, along with Tarab Abdul Hadi, Zulaykha Shihabi, and others, marched a delegation of women to the High Commissioner’s residence in Jerusalem (see Mahasen Nasser-Eldin: “How Do I Construct Historical Narratives through Image and Sound?”). There, they petitioned against the Balfour Declaration and Zionist immigration to Palestine.