WMC Events

Women Leading the Way in Egypt

Nawal Invite Cropped

Reception & Teleconference with 
Nawal El Saadawi, Gloria Steinem, & Robin Morgan

From the hurdles already overcome to the challenges that remain, Egyptian feminist Nawal El Saadawi has seen it all. She joined Women's Media Center Co-Founders Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem to discuss  the past, present and future of women’s leadership in Egypt.  El Saadawi witnessed, and participated in, the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak’s regime. As founder of the Arab Women’s Solidarity Association in 1982, she has been working for decades to advance women’s active participation in social, economic, cultural, and political life. Now, at 80 years old, she sees great leadership potential for young people, and women in particular, as they work to transform their country from the ground up.

The reception and teleconference took place on March 17, 2011: the full recording from the teleconference is available here.

See pictures from the Nawal El-Saadawi Reception with WMC

Nawal El Saadawi is a leading Egyptian feminist, author and medical doctor, whose 1979 book, The Hidden Faces of Eve, explored such issues as female genital mutilation, Islamic fundamentalism, and oppressive marriage and divorce laws. In 1982 she founded the Arab Women’s Solidarity Association to promote women’s active participation in social, economic, cultural, and political life—the NGO was later banned by Hosni Mubarak. Now almost 80, she continues her activism, most recently in the anti-government demonstrations in Tahrir Square.

Robin Morgan is an award-winning writer, feminist leader, political analyst, journalist, and editor as well as a Women's Media Center Co-Founder and Board Member. She has published 20 books, including six of poetry, four of fiction, and the now-classic anthologies Sisterhood Is Powerful, Sisterhood is Global, and Sisterhood is Forever. Her work has been translated into 13 languages. A founder of contemporary US feminism, she has also become a leader in the international women's movement for 25 years.

Gloria Steinem is a writer, lecturer, editor, and feminist activist as well as Women's Media Center Co-Founder and Board Member. She travels in this and other countries as an organizer and lecturer and is a frequent media spokeswoman on issues of equality. In 1972, she co-founded Ms. Magazine, and remained one of its editors for fifteen years.