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Egypt Protest Leveling Playing Field for Women

   Jerome Socolovsky | Cairo  February 08, 2011
   Egyptian  writer  Nawal el Saadawi during an interview with Reuters in
   Cairo, May 2001 (file photo)

Photo: Reuters

   Egyptian  writer  Nawal el Saadawi during an interview with Reuters in
   Cairo, May 2001 (file photo)

   The  anti-government protesters who have been occupying Cairo's Tahrir
   Square  for  more than two weeks now want to turn Egypt into a modern,
   progressive  nation,  including equal rights for men and women. One of
   their heroes is the renowned secular feminist Nawal el Saadawi.
   This  is the square where protests calling for the ouster of President
   Hosni  Mubarak  have been going on since January 25. It's called Midan
   Tahrir  -  which means Liberation Square. And for this protester, it's
   also  about  Women's Liberation: "[Before] we had nothing, now I guess
   we will take everything."

   Many  of  the women say here on the square they are treated as equals.
   They  may  be  outnumbered by men. But when el Saadawi shows up, young
   males shower her with admiration.
   El Saadawi comes to Midan Tahrir every day, but in the evening returns
   home  to  the  relatively  poor  neighborhood  of Shobra. She said the
   uprising  is  a  lifelong  dream  come true. "So these days for me are
   like, I'm breathing! I'm happy! I'm becoming young again!"
   Her  campaigns  against  genital mutilation of girls and her dissident
   political  views have infuriated conservatives and Egypt's rulers. She
   was  barred  from  teaching  and  lived  in  exile. Although she has a
   medical  doctor's  degree  and  her writings have been translated into
   many  languages,  she  voices  the  same  frustrations  as  many older
   Egyptian woman who have been held back.
   "I  never,  never  really was able to live my dream," said el Saadawi.
   "Because  I have a lot of potential. I have a good brain, strong body,