Mudhakkirātī. English

Harem years : the memoirs of an Egyptian feminist (1879-1924) / by Huda Shaarawi ; translated, edited, and introduced by Margot Badran.

New York : Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 1987, ©1986.

ix, 158 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm

In this rare first-hand account of the private world of a Cairo harem during the years before Egypt declared independence in 1922, Shaarawi recalls her childhood and early adult life in the seclusion of an upper-class Egyptian household, including her marriage at age thirteen. Her subsequent separation from her husband gave her time for an extended formal education, as well as an unexpected taste of independence and a critical understanding of the price of confinement. Shaarawi's feminist activism grew along with her involvement in Egypt's nationalist struggle and culminated in 1923 in a daring act of defiance, when she publicly removed her veil in a Cairo railroad station.--Publisher description.

English

May 10, 2005

Includes bibliographical references (pages 138-147).

Biography.