Thuraya Qabil
Saudi Arabian poet and journalist (1940–2026)
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Thuraya Muhammad Abdul Qadir Qabil (sometimes spelt as Gabel, Arabic: ثريا محمد عبد القادر قابل; 1940 – 4 February 2026) was a Saudi Arabian poet and journalist.
Life and career
Qabil was born in Jeddah in 1940,[1] and had a degree from the National College in Beirut.
With the issuance of The Weeping Rhythms in 1963, she became the first Saudi woman in the Hijaz to publish a poetry collection;[2] she was one of a number of women from the region, including Fatna Shakir, Abdiya Khayyat, and Huda Dabbagh, to become prominent in Saudi letters during the 1950s and 1960s.[3] The collection was a success, and many of its poems became the basis for popular songs, but it remained her only book of verse.[4]
She was active as a journalist, serving as chief editor of Zina magazine from 1986 until 1987 and working as an editor for the newspapers al-Bilad and 'Ukaz as well.[2]
Qabil died in Jeddah on 4 February 2026, at the age of 85.[5]
