Naziq al-Abid, the pioneer woman activist in Syria, pictured in military uniform on the day of the Battle of Maysaloun on July 24, 1920. Abid had spearheaded the women’s rights movements under the Ottoman Empire, and lobbying with King Faysal in 1919-1920 to grant women the right to vote. When the French advanced on Damascus in July 1920, she volunteered for service in the Syrian Army and unveiled for combat, causing uproar in conservative districts of the Syrian capital. She tried but failed to save the life of General Yusuf al-Azma in battle, and in reward for her heroism King Faysal made her an honorary general in the Syrian Army.