12 Facts About Mai Ghoussoub

Mai Ghoussoub was a Lebanese writer, artist, publisher and human rights activist.

Mai Ghoussoub was the co-founder in London of the Saqi bookshop and publishing house.

Mai Ghoussoub's father, Raymond Ghoussoub, a Maronite Christian, was a professional footballer.

Mai Ghoussoub studied at the French lycee in Beirut, then mathematics at the American University of Beirut, and French literature at the Lebanese University, and later sculpture at Morley College and the Henry Moore Studio in London.

Mai Ghoussoub was a Trotskyite at the start of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975, but soon became disillusioned and moved on to humanitarian work, establishing two medical dispensaries in a poor Muslim area after the doctors had left and the pharmacies had closed.

Mai Ghoussoub lost an eye in 1977, after her car was hit by a shell while taking someone to hospital.

Mai Ghoussoub moved to London to be treated, and spent time in Paris, where she worked as a journalist for Arab newspapers.

Mai Ghoussoub wrote Comprendre le Liban with her childhood friend Andre Gaspard, under the pseudonyms Selim Accaoui and Magida Salman.

Mai Ghoussoub was a feminist, publishing works on a range of controversial issues and producing challenging artistic installations.

Mai Ghoussoub married the Lebanese writer Hazem Saghieh in 1991.

Mai Ghoussoub died of heart failure in London on 17 February 2007, aged 54.

Mai Ghoussoub was survived by her father, mother, Maggie Ghoussoub, sister, Houda, and husband, Hazem Saghieh.