Zeinab Shaath / زينب شعث

Palestinian activist, singer and songwriter, born 1954 in Alexandria, Egypt.
Daughter to Ali Rashid Shaath, (a principal in Al-Amriyyeh boys’ school in Yaffa under the British Mandate and from 1947 a banker in Alexandria) and a Lebanese mother from a musician family.
After high school graduation, Zeinab went to Cairo University and studied Chemistry and Zoology. In the late 1960s, inspired by the protest songs of Joan Baez, she began composing songs and singing in festivals across Lebanon, while visiting her elder brother Nabil Shaath (later a Palestinian chief negotiator of the Oslo Agreements). There she met artist Ismail Shammout, who worked with the PLO films and filmed her performing the song "The Urgent Call" in 1972. In addition, the Cultural Arts Section of the PLO produced an EP record with 4 songs of her. This brought her an international audience and invitations to perform worldwide. 1976 she moved to the US to complete her studies. There she first continued to compose and perform in many cities. But then, becoming a mother, she stopped singing to raise her children.