In honor of International Women’s Day here are some Egyptian women everyone should know about who have changed our society [photo by historycollective via Instagram] #InternationalWomensDay #اليوم_العالمي_للمرأة
1. Dorryiya Shafik:An activist & a writer who is the reason that the Egyptian constitution contains the right for women to vote&be nominated for office.She created the first women’s political party “Daughter of the Nile Union” was shut down years later due to political opposition
2. Lotfia El Nadi: An Egyptian pilot who became the first woman in Egypt, the first woman in Africa and in the Arab world to earn a pilot’s license. She also became the first woman to fly a plane from Cairo to Alexandria.
3. Huda Sha'arawi: A feminist who founded the “Egyptian Feminist Union” and the first philanthropic society run by women to help women, along with opening a school for girls. She helped to organize what would be know as the 1919 revolution to protest against the British.
4. Saffeya Zaghlol: A political activist known as the “Mother of Egyptians” she would help men who were protesting in the 1919 revolution while her husband; Saad Zaghlol being in exile. She also organized the demonstrations in 1919.
5. Hatshepsut: Known to be one of the greatest rulers in Ancient Egypt she brought one of the most peaceful reigns of Ancient Egypt. Focusing on creating relationships with other countries to continue making Egypt wealthy.
6. Tiye: Tiye became the first Egyptian Queen to have her name recorded in official acts. She had influence on her husband; Amenhotep III and her son Akhenaten, who guided him when he was king even after his father’s death.
7. Suhayr al-Qalamawi: One of the first woman to graduate college and obtain a masters degree and a PhD, she became a professor of modern Arabic literature and joined the Egyptian Parliament in 1967. She established the Cairo Book Fair.
8. Samira Moussa: The First Egyptian Nuclear Researcher. Her goal was to create her work that would lead to affordable medical treatments, particularly cancer along. She was the first woman to work at Cairo University and organized an atomic energy for peace conference.
9. Amina El Said: A writer and magazine editor who created the magazine Hawaa (Eve) where she discussed feminism and women’s rights within her magazine. She became the first woman to attend a university.
10. Naima El Ayoubi: Became the first Egyptian female lawyer and was one of the first 5 women to attend university in 1929.
11. Moufida Abdel Rahman: Became one of the most well known female lawyers in Egypt. She represented Dorryiya Shafik and became the first woman to be in the Committee for the Modifcation of Status Laws for Muslims which regulated marriage matters.
12. Saiza Nabarawi: An Egyptian feminist and journalist who wrote for the newspaper L’Égyptienne and was an active member of the Egyptian Feminist Union and Women's International Democratic Federation
13. Nabaweyya Moussa: Recognized as one of the most important feminists in 20th century, she held lectures promote education, equality and lower exploitation of women. She was also a writer who promoted equality for women and was the first woman to get a high school education
14. Malak Hefni Nassef: One of the earliest women to advocate for women’s rights including basic education and right to work. Her feminism aligned more with Islamic teachings in contrast to other feminists such as Shaarawi which were more secular.
15. Aisha Taymur: Egyptian social activist, writer, poet and feminist who was known to put feminist themes within her writing and is known as the “Mother of Egyptian Feminism”.
16. Aziza Amir: The first Egyptian woman to be in a full length Egyptian movie. She was also a producer and a screenwriter and known as the “godmother of Egyptian cinema”. She famously said “I have one daughter, and that is Egyptian Cinema”
17. Fatma Rushdi: An Actress, director and producer who is known to be one of the pioneers of Egyptian cinema. She started her own theatrical trope which would bring about great talent such as Mahmoud al-Meligi and Mohamed Fawzi.
18. Bahiga Hafez: An actress, director, producer, composer, film editor, and designer who became one of the first women to create a production company, and known to be a pioneer in Egyptian Cinema.
19. Inji Efflatoun: A leading feminist and communist who became a well known activist in the Marxist-progressive-nationalist-feminist movement throughout the 40s and 50s and was a pioneer of modern Egyptian art.
20. Ratiba Hefny: An Egyptian opera soprano singer who’s voice can be heard in the Arabic version of the movie “Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs”.
21. Nawal El Saadawi: One of the most known feminists in modern Egypt. She founded and runs the Arab Women’s Solidarity Association and & Health Education Association & Egyptian Women Writer’s Association. Her views are deemed as controversial and discusses topics such as FGM.
22. Sandra Nashaat: An Egyptian film director who directed popular movies such as “Mallaki Iskandariya” and “El-Maslaha”. She was chosen to interview President Sisi back in 2018.
23. Rana el Kaliouby: An Egyptian-American scientist, innovator and entrepreneur who helped develop the emotion reading wearable glasses in 2006. She was put into the “Women in Engineering” in 2014. She is the co-founder and CEO of Affectiva.
24. Mai Medhat: A computer engineer and tech entrepreneur she co-founded and is now the CEO of Eventtus, an events platform and networking app.
25. Kawkab Hefny Nassef: The first female surgeon in Egypt and the first female physician to join the syndicate of medical doctors
26. Aisha Rateb: A lawyer, politician, professor and Egypt’s first female ambassador who served as an ambassador to Denmark and later to Germany.
27. Latifa Zayyat:An Egyptian novelist, professor, Marxist and anti-colonialist. She’s known for her book “The Open Door” that centers around student activist fighting colonial Britain and France. She was one of the first to use the Egyptian dialect in her writing rather than MSA
28. Rawya Ateya: The first woman to be elected into parliament in Egypt and the Arab World. She also was the first woman to be commissioned as an officer in the army. known as “mother of the martyred combatants”. She championed women’s rights and advocated for maternity leave
29. Aziza Shukry Hussein: First Egyptian woman to represent Egypt at the United Nations and served on the status of women commission for 15 years. She was also an Egyptian social welfare expert advocating on family planning.
30. Muna Zulfiqar: A former member of the National Council who has advocated for an independent union for Egyptian women separate from the state. She was known to challenge the government and their stance on women’s rights.
31. Hoda Badran: An activist and feminist who brought back the Egyptian Feminist Union along with being a chairwoman for the “Arab Alliance for Woman” she fights to bring women to the table to address social and political issues women face
32. Zeinab al-Kafrawy: First woman to join the popular resistance after the nationalization of the Suez Canal. She started a campaign to collect donations to help the Egyptian army & sneak documents and weapons to the army in a baby carriage since the British wouldn’t suspect her
33. Maggie Gobran/ Mama Maggie: A Coptic Christian who is the founder of a non-profit charity “Stephen’s Children” in Egypt. She is also a professor of computer science at AUC and was nominated for a Nobel Prize. Her mission is to help improve the lives of poor Christian families
34. Magda Haroun: Head of Egyptian’s Jewish community, her mission is to preserve and teach about Egyptian Jewish Culture along with tackling discrimination against Jews within the community.
35. Shahenda Maklad: An activist focused on fighting for fighting for the rights of farmers, rural women and is the founder of the Independent Peasants Union. She was also part in the 1952 revolution.
36. Dr. Amal Nassrallah: The first women in her community to chair the English department at the university of Sinai and a member of the academic society in North Sinai, she advocates for girls’ education especially rural girls to send them off to college and get an education
37. Amany El-Weshahy: Known as the mother of the Egyptian Amazigh. As the Head of Egypt’s Amazigh community and Vice President of the International Amazigh Congress in Egypt, she consistently advocates for Amazigh rights and recognition in Egypt.
38. Dalia Shaban: Co-founder of the group Nubian Knights, her mission is to promote and preserve Nubian Heritage. They have an online radio station broadcasting Nubian music along with creating the app “Nubi” to teach Nubian language.
39. Noha Said Al-Mofti: A professor of Graphic Design in Assiut University, she created “Miss Dates”, a children beauty pageant that promotes national costumes and culture of the Kharga Oasis
40. Nagwa Bakr: A community Exhibition officer at the ministry of Tourism and antiques in Egypt. After receiving 2 master’s degrees, she’s working on creating a Heritage Museum to document folk life and Egyptian traditions and cultures such as handicrafts.
41. Zahra Magdy:Founder of Mountain Rose, Dried Fruits and Nuts Project in South Sinai, her passion in studying Herbal Medicine and Bedouin Healing have inspired her to create healthy food for hikers. Her mission is to revive fruit drying, an industry that many rely on for income
42. Ayah Eissa: Coach of the Egyptian Armed Forces Tent Pegging Team, who won the national women’s championship for six years (2009-2013 and 2018-2019) and received the best coach award in 2019.
43. Amira Essam: The first female Lathe Instructor who inspires and encourages women to take any job even if it’s “exclusive” for men.
44. Rose Al Yusuf: Lebanese Born journalist who arrived in Egypt as a child and later created the “Rose Al-Yusuf” magazine addressing taboo subjects such as religion and sexuality. She is considered the first female journalist in the Arab World [ty to @Aquadisiac_ for this]
45. Rania Youssef: An actress who has been recently known to be controversial due to her choice of outfits that go against conservative values of Egypt. She is also known to advocate for women’s rights and women’s choice.
46. Merhan Keller: A model and a women’s rights activist who became well known for exposing Amr Warda for being a serial harasser, she has also helped solve and shed light on a cold case involving father Yasser Said killing his 2 Egyptian daughters.
47. Nadeen Ashraf: An Egyptian feminist and activist who founded “Assaultpolice”, a social media account that has helped push the current MeToo movement in Egypt.
48. Nefertiti: The queen of the 18th dynasty of Ancient Egypt, she reigned at what historians consider the wealthiest period in Ancient Egypt history and started a religious revolution where they worshipped one god. Many believed she also ruled Egypt as a pharaoh at one point.
@beidbelbasterma Love that for us!
49. Umm Kulthum: One of the most known female singers in Egypt and the Arab world, and known as the “Star of the East”, her songs were known to touch the hearts of many and are still listened to today. She also sang songs about Egyptian independence and the country overall.
50. Tahany El Gebali: She became the first female to be appointed to be a judge on the Egyptian Supreme Court. She has also been appointed to appointed Deputy President of Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court.
51. Faten Hamama: Known to be one of the most famous actresses during the Golden Era of Egypt’s cinema and beyond, her roles were powerful in depicting women as independent and powerful. She is known as “The Lady of Arab Cinema”
52. Tahani Toson: Known as the “Player of the Century” in African volleyball in 2000. She played for the Egyptian National Team and the Al-Ahly club and lead the team to 14 championship wins and was named most valuable player 35 times in 18 years.
53. Aya Medany: Modern Pentathlon Word Champion who debuted at the olympics at the age of 15, and was the youngest athlete to compete in the pentathlon. She was the first player in the world to earn 2 gold and 1 silver metals in 3 months.
54. Caroline Maher: The first Egyptian, African and Arab to be held at the Taekwondo Hall of Fame in 2013, winning 130 trophies in 38 countries, she is now a member of the parliament drafting laws to better women’s rights in Egypt.
55. Farida Osman: An Egyptian National & African champion and record holder in all the swimming techniques. She won the first-ever world medal for Egypt in a world junior championship butterfly event + the only Egyptian female swimmer to compete at the 2012 London Olympics.
56. Nahla Ramadan: An Egyptian weightlifter and one of the youngest Egyptians to compete globally and won various medals. She broke a total of 7 world records. She represented Egypt in 2004 and 2012 summer olympics
57. Nour El Sherbini: An Egyptian Squash Player who won the British Junior open in 2009. She made history winning the World Junior Squash Championships at the age of 13 becoming the youngest person to ever win. She’s currently a 4 time world champion in squash
58. Dr. Rania Elwani: An Egyptian swimmer who won three World Cup gold metals, two silver and one bronze in 94-95. She also six silver and four bronze metals at the African championships in 90. She’s now member of the parliament
59. Rahma Khaled: Breaking boundaries as a woman with Down Syndrome, she won a gold metal at the special olympics as a swimmer. She is now working to be the first female TV host in Egypt with Down syndrome and has appeared in several shows on DMC.
60. Raneem El Weleily: A professional squash player ranking 1 in Egypt and 2 worldwide, she won 6 British junior open titles, 2 world junior opens, and became a 3 time finalist in the world open (2014,2016 and 2019/2020)
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