Arab, Nigerian and Israeli women of genius : a biographical study

The study summarizes the biographical information for a group of 77 women: Arab (25); Nigerian (26); and Israeli (26) who are cited in The International Who's Who of Women 1992. Their age ranged between 53-61 years; they married between 24-29 years; and have between 2-4 children. The majority of Arab and Israeli women studied locally while Nigerians studied abroad in UK and USA. Arab women won distinction mainly in academia, organizations and literature; Nigerian in arts, medicine and law; and Israeli in academia and music. They have 3-5 memberships of societies, and obtained around 2 awards and honors. Israelis have higher numbers of publications, art exhibitions and musical activities than Arabs and Nigerians. The three groups have many hobbies and interests with particular preference for reading, music, travelling and gardening. There is a higher rate of emigration for Arab and Israeli women than for Nigerian. Several factors are suggested to account for the variation in the number of women of genius from each nation and the quality of their contributions.