Nawal El Saadawi

Egyptian feminist psychiatrist who challenged patriarchal norms through revolutionary writings

Dr. Nawal El Saadawi (1931-2021) became the Arab world's most radical feminist voice through her unprecedented blend of medical expertise and social activism. As both a trained psychiatrist and novelist, she exposed systemic oppression of women in 20th-century Egypt.

Her groundbreaking 1972 book Women and Sex directly addressed:

• Female genital mutilation (which she experienced at 6)
• Legalized sexual violence within marriage
• Religious misinterpretations justifying misogyny

This led to her dismissal as Egypt's Director of Public Health. Undeterred, El Saadawi founded Arab Women's Solidarity Association in 1981 - the first legal feminist organization in the Arab world. The government dissolved it in 1991.

Her novel Woman at Point Zero (1975), based on interviews with death row inmates, became required reading in global gender studies. A 2020 linguistic analysis showed her works introduced 47 Arabic neologisms related to women's rights.