Dr Nawal Al Saadawi, picture: Guardian .
An interview with Nawal Al Saadawi by Zara Majidpour
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“I am here because I feel I am born again. I am 80 years, I am born again.”
Her white-hair and familiar face amongst demonstrators in Tahrir Square in Cairo is easy to identify. Dr Nawal Al Saadawi is a writer, human right activist, psychologist, political prisoner and well known feminist. Not only is she the most famous woman in Egypt and the Arab world but she is also one the famous women in the world.
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“We need constitution that makes us equal, no separation between man and woman, no distinction between Christian and Muslim. We are Egypt and there must be equality, we came out for freedom, dignity, equality and justice.”1
Nawal Al Saadawi is critical of all religion. “I had been put on a death list and the Muslim fundamentalists in Egypt have vowed to kill me.”2
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She is opposed to female and male genital mutilation and believes both male and female children deserve protection. She believes that “veiling and the nakedness of woman are two side of the same coin.” Some people calls Nawal Al Saadawi the “Simon de Benvoire of Arab world.”
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I interviewed her recently and asked these questions:
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Q: What do you believe makes your opponents afraid of you?
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Nawal Al Saadawi: My opponents are inside and outside Egypt, global and local groups using money, religion, politics, media, weapons and others to exploit the majority of people in the world and in our countries. They are afraid of voices (like my voice) calling for justice, freedom, dignity and equality between all people regardless of nationality, religion, gender, class, race or other. They are afraid to lose their interests and hegemony and illegal profits.
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Q: What do you think you have an accomplished in the period during which you have been an activist?
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Nawal: My books (more than 40), fiction and nonfiction affected 5 generations in Egypt and Arab countries, paved the way for revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, other Arab countries and elsewhere.
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Q: What is your biggest legacy in terms of struggle for human rights?
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Nawal: My books and lectures unveiled the mind of men and women in the Arab world and other counties who have access to them in different languages.
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Also through teaching my courses in different universities under the title “Creativity and Dissidence”, encouraging young men and women are encouraged to revolt against all types of injustices.
Q: How can women in Egypt become more involved in directing their own lives?
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Nawal: Women in Egypt played important roles in the revolutions from 25 Jan 2011 till now; it is a continuous revolution to eradicate all types of economic, political, social, sexual, moral, legal oppressions affecting women, the poor and the youth of both sexes.
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Women are re-establishing now the Egyptian Women Union ( EWU ) to unveil the mind and organize women and progressive men to fight together to continue the revolution and form a political, social and intellectual power capable of realizing all our revolutionary goals. This includes women rights and striving for the independence of Egypt both economically and politically as well as globally and locally.
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This interview was translated into Persian (Farsi) and published in Shahrzadnews website
