Ensaf Attar

Ensaf was born in the early 1930s; she grew up in Beirut, attended Al-Makassed School, and was one of the first female students to enroll in the Lebanese University, and graduate with a degree in political Science. Very few girls pursued university education at the time.

She met her Lebanese husband of Egyptian origins, Ismail el Sayyed, tied the knot, and moved with him to Kuwait, where they stayed for almost sixty years.

Ensaf was not a regular woman, she was unique: a generous giving woman, a cultured caring mother, and a persevering, impulsive, ambitious, and elegant lady who loved life.

Ensaf was elegant inside and out. She taught French language in Kuwait, and proved herself to be a woman who gets things done. However, she never let her career stand in the way of her motherhood. She was a great mother to her son and three daughters, Hazem, Hanan, Hanin, And Houzam, who used to call her “The Empress of H”. Her children are extremely proud of her, and forever grateful.

After her husband's passing nine years ago, Ensaf returned to Lebanon and stayed in her home in Ramlet el Bayda. However, when the coronavirus related lockdown started in Lebanon in March 2020, her daughter Hanin brought her to her house in Gemmayze, to take care of her and supervise her health issues.

On August 4, 2020, when an explosion rocked Beirut city, Ensaf was at her daughter's in Gemmayze. She was wounded in the apartment's bathroom, and was only evacuated to the hospital when the Lebanese Red Cross arrived around 10:00 PM. Her old body succumbed to the wounds, as it could not withstand medical complications, or the toxic emissions she breathed in after the explosion; she passed away on August 15, eleven days after the blast.

Her family decided to donate her beautiful clothes to FabricAID, a second-hand clothes collector and distributor, so they can reach women in need to add color to the darkness in their lives. Ensaf's children wanted their mother's memory to live through, as the exceptional woman she was, one that could combine wit, manners, and elegance.