Huda Sha'arawi

Lore & Background

Huda Sha'arawi was born Nour Al-Huda Mohamed Sultan Shaarawi in Minya to the Shaarawi family. Her father was Muhamed Sultan Pasha Shaarawi, later president of Egypt's Chamber of Deputies, and her mother Iqbal Hanim was of Circassian descent. She was educated alongside her brothers in grammar and calligraphy. At age thirteen, she was married to her cousin Ali Sha'arawi, but a subsequent separation gave her time for extended education and independence. She wrote poetry in Arabic and French, and later published her memoir Modhakkerātī, translated as Harem Years: The Memoirs of an Egyptian Feminist, 1879–1924.

Reader's Guide

Sha'arawi's significance lies in her role as a founder of organized Egyptian feminism and a key figure in the nationalist movement. During the Egyptian Revolution of 1919, she led women's protests and later founded the Wafdist Women's Central Committee. In 1923, she founded the Egyptian Feminist Union and served as its first president. Her public removal of the veil in 1923 after returning from an international women's conference was a landmark act that influenced many Egyptian women. She also launched feminist journals L'Égyptienne and al-Miṣriyya, represented Egypt at international women's congresses, and advocated peace and disarmament. Her philanthropic work included founding the first women-run philanthropic society in 1909 and a school for girls in 1910. Although only some of her demands were met during her lifetime, she laid the groundwork for later gains by Egyptian women and remains a symbolic figure in their liberation movement.

Did You Know?

• Sha'arawi was married at age thirteen to her cousin Ali Sha'arawi, who was also her legal guardian.
• She removed her veil and mantle in 1923 after returning from the 9th Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance Congress in Rome.
• She founded the Egyptian Feminist Union in 1923 and launched the feminist journal L'Égyptienne in 1925.
• In 1938, she and the Egyptian Feminist Union sponsored the Eastern Women's Conference for the Defense of Palestine in Cairo.