Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World

The Lebanese American University founded the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) in 1973. The history of the Institute is closely linked to that of the first women’s college in the Middle East, the America Junior College for Women, which was established in 1924 by the Presbyterian Mission. The College, which educated Middle Eastern women for half a century, became coed in 1973. In order to honor the college’s unique heritage as the first educational institution for women in the region, the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World was established that same year.