"I am very critical of all religions because we, as women, are oppressed by all of them.” There is a current backlash against feminism, argues Nawal El Saadawi, that is strictly linked to a widespread revival of religions.

Born in 1931 in a small village outside Cairo, with eight siblings, Nawal said she started contesting the retrograde laws of tradition by observing the dynamics and relationships within her family – at the age of five she wrote a letter of complaints directly to God.

From personal achievement to prison

Her father provided all his kids with an education and Nawal was able to graduate in psychiatry from the University of Cairo - an exception for girls, especially when of rural origin. While working as a doctor, she became the Minister of Health before being fired under the pressure of political and traditional figures for her progressive stances and writings. She then engaged in her literary and politic passion, pushing women’s freedom and safety on the spotlight of the Arabic society.

She published nearly 50 novels and plays addressing women’s condition, sexuality and legal status around the world and controversial issues such as genital mutilation, domestic violence and prostitution, never afraid to remark her intellectual and human opposition to religious fundamentalism. This cost her various academic and roles and attracted outrage in her country, which she had to leave repeatedly.

In 1981 she was imprisoned for “crimes against the state” under the regime of Sadaat after having criticized his political support to Israel. She wrote: “Danger has being a part of my life since I picked up a pen.Nothing is more perilous than truth in a world that lies”. She continued writing in prison and founded the Arab Women’s Solidarity Association (AWSA). Her firm invectives against religion and women’s oppression caused a blurry of charges and court cases as well as serious threats by religious groups.

Her feminism and campaign against FGM

Because of her pioneer reflection on women’s condition in Islamic society, Nawal El Saadawi became a leading feminist of her generation. She considers feminism to be a vital key to understand modern society: “It is social justice, political justice, sexual justice… It is the link between medicine, literature, politics, economics, psychology and history. Feminism is all that. You cannot understand the oppression of women without this.”

• Juristic Persons

  (Law) an individual or group that is allowed by law to take legal action, as plaintiff or defendent. It may include natural persons as well as fictitious persons ...

• Juristernas Bokhandel

• Jurist Law Pitt

  JURIST Select Course Pages || Resource Pages || Online Articles || Home Pages || Search In co-operation with JURIST: The Law Professors' Network , Find Law ...

• Web Jurist

  Sep 19, 2011 - The Judge Group Opens Newest Office in Phoenix Aug 16, 2011 - The Judge Group Announces President of Human Capital ...

• Buecher Gebrauchte Juristische

  Gebrauchte Bücher des Fachbereichs Rechtswissenschaften Buch, Bücher, Taschenbuch, Taschenbücher, Bücherbörse, Buchmarkt, Büchermarkt, gebrauchte Bücher ...