After Eltaher gave himself up in person to the Prime Minister of Egypt Nahhas Pasha, as described earlier, following the formation of a nationalist cabinet that replaced the pro-British one, instructions were given to the Egyptian Consulate in Beirut to issue her a return visa, and border authorities were instructed to welcome her back to Egypt.
Mrs. Eltaher often shared with her children stories about her deportation. She also dwelled on the numerous Egyptian officials and ordinary people who stood by her during those difficult times and gave her support, though they were unable at the end to protect her from the police.
It is worthwhile mentioning that, before having her two children Hassan and Mona, Mrs. Eltaher had a baby girl named Jehad, who died in 1941 at eight months of age following a fever. When the child died, the authorities refused to allow her father, who was in prison at the time, to attend her funeral or her interment.
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| Last picture of Mrs. Eltaher in 1989 |
Prior to her marriage, Zakeia, future Mrs. Eltaher, had to find work right after graduating from high school despite the fact that she was recommended for medical school in France. Both her parents had passed away; and her older brother had found work in Jerusalem. There were still four young siblings to feed. So they moved back to Sidon, where she left the younger ones with her older sister to take care of. Mrs. Eltaher was eventually hired as a teacher in Iraq in the early thirties. She was not even twenty then!
