Zaynab Fawwaz (1860–1914) was a Lebanese women's rights activist, novelist, playwright, poet and historian of famous women. Her novel "حسن العواقب/Ḥusn al-Awaqib", (The Happy Ending, 1899) is considered the first novel in Arabic written by a woman. Her play, "الهوى والوفاء/Al-Haawa wa al-Wafa" (Passion and Fidelity, 1893), is the first play written in Arabic by a woman. Throughout her writing journey, Zaynab possessed a competitive character and competed with the work of Muhammad Hussein Heikal, and challenged Qasim Amin's call for women liberation. Her work came to a climax during the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the start of the twentieth century in Egypt. Early life Little is known of Zaynab's early life and her exact date of birth is uncertain. In Joseph Zeidan's account: Zaynab married Khalil Bey Al-Assaad, a man that was known to be a falconer, but they separated due to incompatibility. As a result, she moved to Damascus with her father and married a Damascene writer called Adib Nazmi. However, they also divorced. After moving on with her life in Syria, she met an officer in the Egyptian military and married him. They then relocated to Egypt. In Egypt, she lived in Alexandria and expanded her knowledge with the help of many figures such as Sheikh Muhammad Shalaby, Hassan Hosni Al-Tuwarani, and Sheikh Mohieddin Al-Nabhani. The environment that she was living in helped reveal her true talents, and she wrote numerous letters that were published in the main newspapers of Egypt. All these publications led to her fame in the various fields of writing, poetry, and art. During this time, she also wrote two novels. She wrote a biographical dictionary called "الدر المنثور في طبقات ربات الخدور/al-Durr al-manthur fi tabaqat rabbat al-khudur" or The Book of Scattered Pearls Regarding Categories of Women. Unusual at that time, Zaynab along with Aisha Taymur were the only forerunners who had the courage to express in writing. Fawwaz issued her works and articles in many papers such as Al-Moayyed, Al-Nile, Al-Ahali, Al-Liwaa, Al-Ustaz, Al-Fata, and others. Her work was mainly focused on encouraging the freedom of education, especially women's education. Although she married more than once, she never had any children Literary career When Zaynab moved to Alexandria, Egypt, she became the student of the poet and owner of Al-Nil Magazine, Hasan Husni Pasha Al-Tuwayrani. Under his guidance, she began to write articles on social issues affecting women,