Background
Kawar was born Widad Irani to Jalil Zand Irani and Haneh Sleh. Her father Jalil was an accomplished teacher and head of juvenile school system in British Mandate government of Palestine.
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Widad Kawar
Edit ProfileEducation
She studied at a Quaker school in Ramallah and at the American University of Beirut.
Career
She has amassed an extensive collection of dresses, costumes, textiles, and jewelry over the past 50 years, seeking to preserve a culture that has been largely dispersed by conflict. Kawar is known as Umm l"ibas al-falastini—the mother of Palestinian dress. She grew up in Bethlehem.
Kawar has made her collection available for public viewing and has mounted exhibits of Palestinian dress around the world.
She has written many books on Palestinian embroidery and is seeking to establish a Gallery of Cultural Embroidery. Recently, she collaborated with Margaret Skinner on A Treasury of Stitches: Palestinian Embroidery Motifs, 1850–1950 (Rimal/Melisende).
She has recently established the Teraz foundation which runs small museum in Amman Jordan to house her collection and dedicated to the preservation of cultural traditions of Jordan and Palestine.
Membership
Widad is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Center for Oriental Research.
