Nafisa al-Barka

19th-century Egyptian educator who established Cairo's first girls' school and preserved classical Arabic scholarship.

Nafisa al-Barka (1819-1897) was an Egyptian scholar and educator who broke barriers as the first woman to teach at Cairo's Al-Azhar University and founder of Egypt's first girls' school in 1845. Her innovative school emphasized both religious and secular subjects, challenging traditional gender roles in Islamic education. She became the first female imam in recorded history, leading prayers at the historic Sultan Galawati mosque.

Al-Barka's dual role as scholar and educator was extraordinary - she mastered classical Arabic texts while developing progressive teaching methods. Her students included future leaders like poet Fatma Ismail, creating a generation of educated women that influenced Egypt's 1882 nationalist movement. Despite her contributions, her name was omitted from official historical records until recent feminist scholarship reclaimed her legacy.

Her educational philosophy emphasized intellectual equality, stating 'Knowledge has no gender.' This principle guided her establishment of the first girls' madrasa combining Quranic studies with mathematics and astronomy. Modern Cairo's Nafisa al-Barka University honors her legacy through its women's studies programs. Historians note her influence on later reformers like Qasim Amin, father of Egyptian feminism.