Nawal El Saadawi

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Nawal El Saadawi
نوال السعداوى
Nawal El Saadawi
Born(1931-10-27)October 27, 1931
DiedMarch 21, 2021(2021-03-21) (aged 89)
Cairo, Egypt
Occupation(s)Physician, psychiatrist, author, feminist
SpouseSherif Hatata (1964-2010; divorced)
Children2

Nawal El Saadawi (Arabic: نوال السعداوى, October 27, 1931 – March 21, 2021) was an Egyptian feminist writer, activist, physician and psychiatrist. She wrote 47 books about the problems of women in Egypt. She was a Marxist.

Early life[change | change source]

Saadawi was born in the small village of Kafr Tahla. When Saadawi was six years old her clitoris was cut off by a midwife at her home. Saadawi graduated as a medical doctor in 1955 from Cairo University.

Career[change | change source]

In 1958 her first novel, Memoirs of a Woman Doctor, was published. Her first non-fiction work was published in 1972. Her best known work Woman at Point Zero was published in 1975. In 1981 Saadawi helped publish a feminist magazine, Confrontation. Her memoir was published in 1986. El-Saadawi worked as a visiting professor at Duke University between 1993 and 1994.[1]

Personal life[change | change source]

Saadawi had three husbands. She had one son with her third husband Sherif Hatata. They divorced in 2010.

Saadawi died on 21 March 2021 at a hospital in Cairo, aged 89.[2][3][4]

References[change | change source]

  1. "Nawal el-Saadawi: Profile". www.aljazeera.com.
  2. Saad, Mohammed (21 March 2021). "Renowned Egyptian feminist, author Nawal El-Saadawi dies at the age of 89". Ahram Online. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  3. "Pioneering Egyptian Feminist Nawal El Saadawi Dies Aged 89". Egyptian Streets. 21 March 2021.
  4. "Arab author, women's rights icon Nawal El-Saadawi dies in Cairo". Arab News. 21 March 2021.