Muslim Women: Past and Present

Recommend a Muslim Woman

Throughout the ages, from the earliest days of Islam to contemporary times today, Muslim women have been and continue to be active leaders in their communities and countries across the world. This directory is a growing archive of leading Muslim women scholars, activists, writers, politicians, artists, religious and spiritual leaders, civil society leaders and more. Please contribute to this archive by suggesting Muslim women to be featured through our recommendation form.

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Nawal El Saadawi

Memory is never complete. There are always parts of it that time has amputated. Writing is a way of retrieving them, of bringing the missing parts back to it, of making it more holistic.

Nawal El Saadawi states in her autobiography, A Daughter of Isis: The Autobiography of Nawal El Saadawi.

photo of Nawal El Saadawi Photo Credit: Hasan Jamali/AP

Known For: Novelist
Dates: 1931
Country: Egypt

About

Nawal El Saadawi is a world famous Egyptian novelist. She is the author of more than 40 books, fiction and non-fiction, and notably writes in Arabic. Her works range in topic but many detail the situations affecting women in Egypt. In 1969 Dr. El Saadawi published “Women and Sex,” which criticized Female Genital Cutting and linked sexual problems to political and economic oppression, and was banned by political and religious authorities.  Shortly after, in 1972, she lost her job in the Egyptian Ministry of Health, and in 1981 she was sent to prison by then-Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat. Under constant scrutiny by the government and religious organizations, Dr. El Saadawi continued to write about women in Egypt. As recently as 2001, three of her books were banned at the Cairo International Book Fair.

She had been awarded several national and international literary prizes, lectured in many universities, and participated in many international and national conferences. In May 2009 she presented at the Arthur Miller Lecture at the Pen International Literary Festival in New York. Throughout her career her works have been translated into more than 30 languages and have been taught throughout the world.

Sources

Nawal El Saadawi Web. 14 June 2010
Egypt’s Leading Feminist Unveils Her Thoughts by Ahmed Nassef

Videos

Nawal El Saadawi: “Religion is all politics”  

Nawal El Saadawi discusses her role in the feminist movement

Nawal El Saadawi speaks about her life and accomplished work

More Information

Nawal El Saadawi’s Website

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This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women alphabetically by their first names. Many Muslim names have alternative spellings once rendered into English so if you cannot find the name you are looking for, please try the general search tab where you can enter keywords of your choice.
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This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women chronologically by the Common Era century. We are actively building the archive of Muslim women leaders from the past, as well as from today, and we would welcome your recommendations of women to feature. Please complete our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.
This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women by their Country. We are actively building the archive of Muslim women leaders from the past, as well as from today, and we would welcome your recommendations of women to feature. Please complete our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.
This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women leaders by entering the keyword(s) of your choice. If you cannot find a particular woman that you are looking for, please let us know by completing our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.