KAROLİN BIZİ

Beirut - A commemorative event to honor the memory of feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi were held by Lebanese women activists. At the events led by journalist Hayat Murshed, women sang songs, played cello, drew the pictures of Nawal El Saadawi on the street walls and read her books.

Rola Abboud drew a picture of Nawal El Saadawi on a wall while opera singer Lar Joukhadar and cellist Veronique Wehbe performed for her. “We see her as our intellectual and spiritual mother,” the activists said.

Joumana Haddad: She was our source of inspiration

Writer and feminist activist Joumana Haddad, one of the organizers of the event, said, “We held such event in Beirut for Nawal El Saadawi. She was our source of inspiration. We know we lost her but her ideas and inspiring struggle will live with us forever. We will always remember and commemorate her.”

“I found myself thanks to her”

Haddad met Nawal El Saadawi many years ago. “I was so impressed by her stance. I was a feminist before knowing nothing about feminism. I found myself thanks to her. I know that Nawal El Saadawi has had a big influence on many women. Whenever I meet women and girls, I see this influence. After her death, I understand how she was well known and loved.”

Hayat Murshed: My thesis was about Nawal El Saadawi

Hayat Murshed wrote her doctorate thesis about Nawal El Saadawi, “I had many meetings with Nawal El Saadawi. I always told my students about her personality and thoughts, how she was important and her thoughts never die.”

Who is Nawal El Saadawi?

Nawal El Saadawi was an Egyptian feminist writer, activist, physician, and psychiatrist. She wrote many books on the subject of women in Islam, paying particular attention to the practice of female genital mutilation in her society. She was described as “the Simone de Beauvoir of the Arab World”, and as “Egypt's most radical woman”. She was founder and president of the Arab Women's Solidarity Association and co-founder of the Arab Association for Human Rights. She was awarded honorary degrees on three continents. She won the North-South Prize from the Council of Europe in 2004. In 2005, she won the Inana International Prize in Belgium. She died on 21 March 2021 at a hospital in Cairo.