16 Egyptian women who made history
On the International Women’s Day, we honour and remember 16 Egyptian women who made history. Egyptian history is dominated by triumphant Egyptian women in every field possible, from Ancient Egyptian times to modern day Egypt.
Nabwiyya Musa
Nabawiyya Musa was a prominent Egyptian woman who was one of the founding members of the Egyptian Feminist Union (EFU) in 1923.
In 1907, she became the first Egyptian female to graduate from high school. She grew up within a middle class family in Alexandria, and became an educator as well as a prolific writer.
Her writing was a mirror to the period in the Egyptian history in which she lived. She believed that giving women an equal status as men will make them less vulnerable and less prone to sexual assault.
First Five Women to Graduate from University
In 1929, five Egyptian young women became the first females to graduate from the Egyptian University (currently Cairo University). The five women were Dr. Naima Al-Ayouby, Ms. Fatema Salem, Mrs. Zuhaira Abdul-Aziz, Dr. Suhayr al-Qalamawi, and Ms. Fatema Fahmy.
al-Qalamawi became later one of the prominent figures in Egyptian literature and politics. She was also a president to the EFU as well as the chairperson of the Arabic Department at Cairo University.
Hilana Sedarous
Hilana Sedarous was the first Egyptian female doctor in 1930. Sedarous was among the first five Egyptian female students to study in England after they received a scholarship in 1922.
She worked in Kitchener Hospital (currently Shoubra General Hospital) and she was carrying out her surgical procedures there. She then opened her private clinic with a specialisation in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
After she retired, she worked on the translation of children’s books and she donated most of her massive wealth to charitable causes.
Lotfia El Nadi
Lotfia El Nadi set an example for a powerful Egyptian woman and became the first Egyptian woman as well as the first Arab and African woman to earn a pilot’s licence.
Born in 1907 into an upper-class family, her father saw no reason for her to pursue secondary education.
El Nadi pursued an education in the flying school without her father’s approval, and had to work as a secretary and telephone operator for the flying school in exchange for her tuition fees.
In 1933, El Nadi flew in the international race between Cairo and Alexandria. She was close friends with pilots like American aviation pioneer and writer Amelia Earhart, who was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Sameera Moussa
Sameera Moussa was the first female Egyptian nuclear physicist as well as the first female teaching assistant at the Faculty of Sciences at Cairo University after her graduation in 1939.
She was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and became the first non-American to be granted access to American atomic facilities. She hoped that her work would lead to affordable medical treatments and peaceful use of atomic energy.
During her visit to the United States in 1952, her car fell from a height of 12 metres which killed her instantly. It is believed that the Mossad were behind the accident with the help of Jewish actress Raqya Ibrahim.
Rawya Ateya
In 1956, Rawya Ateya became the first Egyptian woman to be an officer in the Armed Forces and in 1957, she became the first female Member of Parliament in Egypt and the Arab world.
Born in 1926, she grew up in a politically active family. Her father was the secretary general of the liberal party Al-Wafd. She had a master’s degree in journalism as well as a diploma in Islamic studies.
She played an active role in the Suez War when Egypt was invaded by the UK, France, and Israel.
In 1957, 70 percent of the parliament refused to let women join the parliament as members. However, Ateya overcame the odds and received 110,807 votes.
“I was met with resentment for being a woman. Yet I talked to them and reminded them of the prophet’s wives and families until they changed their opinions.” Ateya said.
In 1973, she chaired the Society of Families of Martyrs and Soldiers, earning her the nickname “mother of the martyred combatants”
She died in 1997, after she inspired millions of women to pursue their dreams.
Hikmat Abu Zayd
Hikmat Abu Zayd was the first female cabinet member in Egypt in 1962, becoming the Social Affairs Minister.
Born in 1992 in Asyut governorate, she graduated from Cairo University in 1940 with a bachelor’s degree. She then progressed further in her studies, to get a Master of Arts from the University of St Andrews in 1950 and a doctorate in Educational Psychology from the University of London in 1957.
In 1962, she was named as Minister of Social Affairs serving until 1965, changing many aspects of the social affairs law in Egypt. For instance, she made it obligatory for men to show up in court to get a divorce.
She died in 2011 at 89, leaving behind an inspirational legacy to Egyptian women.
Anissa Hassouna
Anissa Hassouna was an Egyptian politician and Member of the Egyptian Parliament. She became the first woman elected on the board of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs in 1976.
Born in 1953, she graduated from Cairo University and started her career right after her graduation in the mid-70s.
In 2009, she joined the Magdi Yacoub Foundation, which was founded in 2008 to provide free cardiac care to children in Egypt, and became the executive-director.
She left the foundation in 2016 to serve as a member of the Egyptian Parliament. She advocated for human rights, free religious speech, and reforms within education and culture.
In 2018, she requested the Parliament create free playgrounds for children in every district. And in 2019, she suggested that the PM shall create a law to ban the usage of plastic to help save the environment and the Egyptian wildlife.
In 2017 she was diagnosed with cancer, and she received chemotherapy and radiation therapy, however, she was not fully cured. She died in March 2022 at the age of 69.
Tahani Al-Gebali
Tahani Al-Gebali made headlines in 2003 when she became the first female judge in Egypt. She also served as Vice President of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt.
She remained the only female judge until 2007, when 32 women were appointed to various judicial positions. She was born in 1950 and graduated from Cairo University.
“Everything new is at first resented, when women first went out to learn, people said it was the end of time, when women went out to work they said it is the end of the world. But it was not. And women have proven themselves in all fields.” said Al-Gebali.
She died in January 2022 at the age of 71 after she contracted COVID-19.
Eva Habeel
In 2008, Eva Habeel became the first female mayor in Egypt, beating five male candidates for the position. She was the mayor of Komboha, an Upper Egypt village near Asyut governorate. She was a member of the National Democratic Party (NDP). Her father was a mayor of the same village.
Dalia Mogahed
Dalia Mogahed is an Egyptian-American who in 2009 became the first veiled Muslim woman to hold a position in the White House.
She was born in Cairo in 1975 and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 4. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a minor in Arabic from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also received an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.
She is the director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) in Washington, D.C.
Up until this point she is fighting for Muslim women’s rights in the western world. In 2020 she talked about the French incident with Muslim French citizens saying: “it is all open and anyone can say anything they want” condemning the fact that Holocaust denial is criminalized and wearing a veil is banned in French schools.
Sarah Samir
In 2015, Egyptian Sarah Samir became the first female football referee for male teams in Egypt. Samir said that she looks forward to being a referee in more games in the future, hoping that one day she can join the World Cup.
“I want to take part in more than World Cup. I’m still young, I have a chance to do so,” she said in an interview.
On the International Women’s Day, Egyptian women have been triumphing and making headlined in every field possible for more than 100 years, and still counting.
