In checking through a series of old issues of the Weyburn Review, I ran across an article in a 1954 edition regarding Sarah Jamali. With events being what they are in the Arab world today, I thought this might be of interest to our readers.

Sarah Jamali is the former Sarah Powell. The Powell family lived on the South Hill not far from my home. Her father was the first manager of the Weyburn Security Bank, which is now the Canadian Imperial Bank. Sarah married a prominent Iraqi diplomat, Dr. Mohammed Fadel Jamali, whom she met while studying at the University of Chicago. He invited her to teach English in Baghdad, she accepted his offer and went to Baghdad. A year later she was married to him.

Jamali was active in the political life of Iraq. Sarah also had political interests other than teaching. She was a charter member of the Women's Temperance and Social Welfare Society, which was the first women's organization in Iraq to receive a charter from the government. In two decades she saw the women of Iraq enter 30 professions and occupations formerly occupied by only men and also earn income equality.

Sarah explained how the government owned gas stations and oil refineries. An Iraqi development board invested oil revenues using dividends to develop people's properties such as roads, dams, irrigation projects, new industries, schools and hospitals.

Dr. Jamali, who was an elected representative in Parliament, later became the Premier of Iraq. Sarah said Iraq was one of the few countries to outlaw communism. Iraq's three monotheistic religions of Islam, Judaism and Christianity existed without clashes or embarrassing situations.

Some time later Dr. Jamali was deposed from the throne. He was dragged through the streets of Baghdad and imprisoned. When released from prison he and Sarah moved to Tunisia, South Africa, where he taught in a university. A few years after his death Sarah returned to Jordan to live with one of her three sons. I believe she is still living.

An interesting woman from "little ol' Weyburn."