The “first woman” in the Kitāb al-Awāʾil by Abū Hilāl al-ʿAskarī (d. after 395/1005)

In this study, I focus on the Kitāb al-Awāʾil (The Book of Firsts) by Abū Hilāl al-ʿAskarī (d. after 395/1005), a work that represents a milestone in the literature of awāʾil. The main aim of my research is – after introducing the genre, the author and the work – to present the eighth chapter (bāb) of the Kitāb al-Awāʾil, which explores aspects of the female world while also reflecting life and social relationships of the time. I pay particular attention to the first three stories presented by al-ʿAskarī, which I find particular interesting: Hāǧar, the first woman to undergo the practice of female genital mutilation and to have her ears pierced; Zarqāʾ al-Yamāma, known for her extraordinary eyesight and remembered in al-ʿAskarī’s work as the first woman to use antimony to color her eyelids; and finally, Ṭuways and the two female singer slaves (ǧarādatān), in relation to “the first” who sang in Arabic.