Laure Moghaizel
Laure Moghaizel (1929–1997) was a Lebanese attorney and prominent women's rights advocate. who was awarded the National Order of the Cedar (commander) in recognition of many years of social and public service. Moghaizel was a founding member of many organizations including the Democratic Party of Lebanon, the Lebanese Association for Human Rights, and Bahithat (Lebanese Women Researchers). Early life and education Laure Moghaizel was born on April 21, 1929, in Hasbayeh, Lebanon, to Labiba Saab and Nassib Salim Nasr. She, her sister, and her two brothers lived in three cities during their younger years - Jounieh, Aley and Baalbeck. Moghaizel's father was a high ranking police officer whose work demanded constant relocation throughout Lebanon, allowing her increased exposure to various settings, peoples and cultures. She became fluent in English, French, and Arabic. Moghaizel's parents, specifically her mother Labiba Saab, were seen as progressive, in the context of the time period. They encouraged each of their children to reach their highest educational potential. Her mother urged her and her sister to continue their studies post-Baccalaureate, though post-graduate studies were generally limited to the wealthy in Lebanon. Moghaizel acquired her secondary education at Aley National School where she received a secular, progressive, Arab education. After, she moved to Beirut and continued her studies at the Besançon school in Beirut (College des Soeurs de la Charite), which was considered one of the renowned schools in the region at that time. She continued her education at Saint Joseph University at the Institute of Oriental Studies, where she pursued a degree in philosophy in Arabic, and later a law degree. In law school, Laure was one of only three women in her class of 100 men. Laure also met her future husband, Joseph Moghaizel, while they were both students at university. It was during her first year of law school in 1949 that Moghaizel began to meet other like-minded women, many of whom similarly pioneered women's rights in Lebanon. These figures included Laure Tabet, Mirvat Ibrahim and Najla Saab. Moghaizel became socially and politically established during her early adulthood. She decided on a career in the public sector, became involved with the feminist movement, and committed her life to the intersection of law and women's issues. Political career and activism Early career After Lebanese independence from the French Mandate in 1943, initial advances in Lebanese women's rights were made by two major advocacy groups, the Lebanese Women Union and the Christian Women's Solidarity Association. These two bodies merged in 1952 under the Lebanese Council of Women. Moghaizel herself was a member of the Christian Women's Solidarity Association, and remained a part of the later Council. During the Lebanese Civil War, however, the Council's activist agenda stagnated as it set aside its ambitions for women's civil rights in order to immediately provide welfare services to war victims. Moghaizel maintained her commitment to the public life and wartime preservation of human rights through several communal efforts. The beginning act of this being the Peace March on the