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The Nawal El Saadawi Reader
Writer, doctor and militant, Nawal el Saadawi has had a major influence on the lives of women and men globally. Author of many books, both fiction and non-fiction, which challenge our thinking about the politics of sex, Third World development, the Arab world and writing itself, she has been a constant thorn in the side of the class and patriarchal systems.
This collection of her non-fiction writing since the publication of her seminal book on Arab women The Hidden Face of Eve (Zed Books, 1980) presents the full range of her extraordinary work. She explores a host of topics from women’s oppression at the hands of recent interpretations of Islam to the role of women in African literature, from the sexual politics of development initiatives to tourism in a ‘post-colonial’age, from the nature of cultural identity to the subversive potential of creativity, from the fight against female genital mutilation to problems facing the internationalization of the women’s movement. Throughout her writing, she sheds new light on the power of women in resistance - against poverty, racism, fundamentalism, and inequality of all kinds.
Showing the intellectual and political development of an important thinker for the late twentieth century, this book is essential reading for students and lecturers in women’s studies, development studies and social theory. It is also a book anyone who wants to understand current global politics - in their widest sense - can not do without.
This collection of her non-fiction writing since the publication of her seminal book on Arab women The Hidden Face of Eve (Zed Books, 1980) presents the full range of her extraordinary work. She explores a host of topics from women’s oppression at the hands of recent interpretations of Islam to the role of women in African literature, from the sexual politics of development initiatives to tourism in a ‘post-colonial’age, from the nature of cultural identity to the subversive potential of creativity, from the fight against female genital mutilation to problems facing the internationalization of the women’s movement. Throughout her writing, she sheds new light on the power of women in resistance - against poverty, racism, fundamentalism, and inequality of all kinds.
Showing the intellectual and political development of an important thinker for the late twentieth century, this book is essential reading for students and lecturers in women’s studies, development studies and social theory. It is also a book anyone who wants to understand current global politics - in their widest sense - can not do without.
304 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 1997
6 people are currently reading
689 people want to read
About the author
Nawal El Saadawi
115 books3,540 followersNawal El Saadawi (Arabic: نوال السعداوي) was born in 1931, in a small village outside Cairo. Unusually, she and her brothers and sisters were educated together, and she graduated from the University of Cairo Medical School in 1955, specializing in psychiatry. For two years, she practiced as a medical doctor, both at the university and in her native Tahla.
From 1963 until 1972, Saadawi worked as Director General for Public Health Education for the Egyptian government. During this time, she also studied at Columbia University in New York, where she received her Master of Public Health degree in 1966. Her first novel Memoirs of a Woman Doctor was published in Cairo in 1958. In 1972, however, she lost her job in the Egyptian government as a result of political pressure. The magazine, Health, which she had founded and edited for more than three years, was closed down.
From 1973 to 1978 Saadawi worked at the High Institute of Literature and Science. It was at this time that she began to write, in works of fiction and non-fiction, the books on the oppression of Arab women for which she has become famous. Her most famous novel, Woman at Point Zero was published in Beirut in 1973. It was followed in 1976 by God Dies by the Nile and in 1977 by The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World.
In 1981 Nawal El Saadawi publicly criticized the one-party rule of President Anwar Sadat, and was subsequently arrested and imprisoned. She was released one month after his assassination. In 1982, she established the Arab Women's Solidarity Association, which was outlawed in 1991. When, in 1988, her name appeared on a fundamentalist death list, she and her second husband, Sherif Hetata, fled to the USA, where she taught at Duke University and Washington State University. She returned to Egypt in 1996.
In 2004 she presented herself as a candidate for the presidential elections in Egypt, with a platform of human rights, democracy and greater freedom for women. In July 2005, however, she was forced to withdraw her candidacy in the face of ongoing government persecution.
Nawal El Saadawi has achieved widespread international recognition for her work. She holds honorary doctorates from the universities of York, Illinois at Chicago, St Andrews and Tromso. Her many prizes and awards include the Great Minds of the Twentieth Century Prize, awarded by the American Biographical Institute in 2003, the North-South Prize from the Council of Europe and the Premi Internacional Catalunya in 2004. Her books have been translated into over 28 languages worldwide. They are taught in universities across the world.
She now works as a writer, psychiatrist and activist. Her most recent novel, entitled Al Riwaya was published in Cairo in 2004.
From 1963 until 1972, Saadawi worked as Director General for Public Health Education for the Egyptian government. During this time, she also studied at Columbia University in New York, where she received her Master of Public Health degree in 1966. Her first novel Memoirs of a Woman Doctor was published in Cairo in 1958. In 1972, however, she lost her job in the Egyptian government as a result of political pressure. The magazine, Health, which she had founded and edited for more than three years, was closed down.
From 1973 to 1978 Saadawi worked at the High Institute of Literature and Science. It was at this time that she began to write, in works of fiction and non-fiction, the books on the oppression of Arab women for which she has become famous. Her most famous novel, Woman at Point Zero was published in Beirut in 1973. It was followed in 1976 by God Dies by the Nile and in 1977 by The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World.
In 1981 Nawal El Saadawi publicly criticized the one-party rule of President Anwar Sadat, and was subsequently arrested and imprisoned. She was released one month after his assassination. In 1982, she established the Arab Women's Solidarity Association, which was outlawed in 1991. When, in 1988, her name appeared on a fundamentalist death list, she and her second husband, Sherif Hetata, fled to the USA, where she taught at Duke University and Washington State University. She returned to Egypt in 1996.
In 2004 she presented herself as a candidate for the presidential elections in Egypt, with a platform of human rights, democracy and greater freedom for women. In July 2005, however, she was forced to withdraw her candidacy in the face of ongoing government persecution.
Nawal El Saadawi has achieved widespread international recognition for her work. She holds honorary doctorates from the universities of York, Illinois at Chicago, St Andrews and Tromso. Her many prizes and awards include the Great Minds of the Twentieth Century Prize, awarded by the American Biographical Institute in 2003, the North-South Prize from the Council of Europe and the Premi Internacional Catalunya in 2004. Her books have been translated into over 28 languages worldwide. They are taught in universities across the world.
She now works as a writer, psychiatrist and activist. Her most recent novel, entitled Al Riwaya was published in Cairo in 2004.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 10, 2024
El Saadawi’s voice as an Arab feminist. This book is a collection of her articles about women’s rights, class hierarchies, social divisions based of gender and race. Her ideas are bold and worth reading and exploring. Hear for El Saadawi herself through her writing, but don’t read about her from orientalist point of views.
I am fond of her saying in page 261 "Only minds liberated from their chains can make resistance and revolution a fact. We need political power to continue our struggle. We need the power of knowledge and awareness. We need solidarity within our countries and internationally."
I am fond of her saying in page 261 "Only minds liberated from their chains can make resistance and revolution a fact. We need political power to continue our struggle. We need the power of knowledge and awareness. We need solidarity within our countries and internationally."
December 20, 2023
El Saadawi broke my silly American brain open in the best way and I’m so thankful. Her concept of demystification is one I think about very often. And her remarks that she has yet to find “Occidentalist” scholars…brilliant. Her work in harmony with that of Said is a masterclass for those born in the Imperial core like myself.
September 15, 2025
What strikes me the most about Nawal's collection of writing here is how many of the recurring themes are present through today, decades after some of her essays were first published. Nawal is a fantastic writer. Looking forward to reading her fiction as well.
April 11, 2025
Didn't finish; I'm going to have to put this one on hold.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews