Qasim Amin

Egypt's first feminist thinker who pioneered women's rights discourse in the Arab world

Qasim Amin (1863–1908) was an Egyptian jurist and intellectual often called the 'father of Arab feminism.' As a graduate of the Imperial University of Cairo, he synthesized Islamic scholarship with European Enlightenment ideas. His 1899 book Tahrir al-Mar'a ('The Liberation of Women') became a foundational text in Arab feminist thought, arguing for women's education and legal rights within Islamic frameworks.

Amin's work challenged traditional gender roles in Ottoman Egypt, advocating for girls' schools and women's participation in public life. He proposed modernizing family law to give women inheritance rights and divorce options, influencing later reforms in Syria and Lebanon. His 1899 essay Equal Rights for Men and Women According to the Principles of Islam remains a debated text in Islamic feminism studies.

Though criticized by religious conservatives, his ideas spread through Cairo's Al-Azhar University circles. Modern scholars like Margot Badran argue his work created a blueprint for later Arab feminists like Huda Sha'arawi. His legacy is evident in Egypt's 2000 Family Law reforms, which expanded women's rights in inheritance and divorce.

Amin's writings are available in English translations like Arab Feminism: The Vision of Qasim Amin (2015). His debate with Abu al-Fadl al-Ghazali on women's rights remains a key historical dialogue in Islamic modernism.