Hanan Ashrawi

As a student of Literature in Beirut, Ashrawi dated Peter Jennings, Canadian-American news presenter of 'World News Tonight'.

In 1975, August, Anglican-Christian Hanan got married to Emil Ashrawi, a photographer and director of plays, with whom she has two daughters, Amal and Zeina.

Hanan Daoud Khalil Ashrawi was born to Daoud Mikhail and his wife Wadi’a Ass’ad Mikhail, on October 8, 1946, at Nablus, a city in present West Bank near Jordan. Daoud, who founded the 'Palestine Liberation Organization', was a Christian doctor, while Wadi’a was employed as a nurse.

When the 'Palestine War' took place in 1948, resulting in the victory of Israel, Hanan's family took refuge in Amman, Jordan along with numerous other Palestinians. Daoud initially stayed back, but was later forced to unite with his wife and five daughters because of the mass-exile known as 'Nakba'.

For two years, Daoud served as a health inspector for the Jordanian government, before settling down in the Ramallah city of West Bank. Here, Ashrawi was sent to 'Ramallah Friends Girls School', after which she pursued her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in literature from the 'American University of Beirut’.

During the 'Third Arab-Israel War' in 1967, Ashrawi was in Lebanon, and thus was not permitted to enter West Bank by the Israel government on the grounds of being absent. Around the same time, she served as a representative of the 'General Union of Palestinian Students', aiming to involve women in active politics.

She pursued her doctoral programme from the 'University of Virginia' in Medieval and Comparative Literature, during her exile from West Bank.

In 1973, the young woman came back to the West Bank to reunite with her family, and became the founder-Chairperson of the English Department at ‘Birzeit University’. The next year she established the ‘Birzeit University Legal Aid Committee’ as well as the ‘Human Rights Action Project’.

Hanan was appointed the Dean of the ‘Faculty of Arts’ at the ‘Birzeit University’ in 1986. Two years later she became a member of the ‘Intifada Political Committee’, an organization that fought for Palestine’s freedom from the rule of Israel.

In 1991, Ashrawi began representing the 'Palestinian Delegation', at the Middle East peace negotiations, serving as their prolocutor for the next two years. She also served on the delegation's 'Executive Committee' and 'Leadership/Guidance Committee'.

This humanitarian political activist is famous for her contribution towards the liberation of Palestine from the Israel government, particularly focussing on the active participation of women in the movement.