A Daughter of Isis
Egypt

A Daughter of Isis

by Nawal El Saadawi

Women & Society Memoir 1999

Summary

Long before she became one of the Arab world’s most outspoken feminist voices, Nawal El Saadawi was a young girl growing up in a village beside the Nile, questioning the rules that governed women’s lives.

In A Daughter of Isis, El Saadawi revisits her childhood and early adulthood, tracing the experiences that shaped her determination to challenge injustice. She recalls her family, her education, the restrictions imposed on girls, and her growing awareness of the contradictions between religious teachings, social expectations, and women’s lived realities.

With characteristic candour, she recounts the beginnings of her journey as a physician, writer, and activist, revealing how personal rebellion gradually became a lifelong commitment to equality. Her story is also a portrait of twentieth-century Egypt, where changing political and social landscapes shaped the possibilities available to women.

Intimate, defiant, and deeply reflective, this memoir illuminates the experiences behind El Saadawi’s revolutionary ideas and celebrates the courage required to forge an independent life.

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Country
Egypt
Africa
About the author
Nawal El Saadawi
Nawal El Saadawi

Nawal El Saadawi (1931–2021) was an Egyptian physician, psychiatrist, novelist, and feminist activist whose work challenged patriarchal traditions, religious authority, and gender inequality in the Arab world. Born in the village of Kafr Tahla, Egypt, she studied medicine at Cairo University and worked as a doctor in rural communities, where she witnessed the social and health consequences of women’s oppression. These experiences profoundly influenced her writing, which addresses female sexuality, bodily autonomy, political repression, and the relationship between gender and power. Her best-known novel, Woman at Point Zero (1975), tells the story of a woman sentenced to death whose life reveals the intersecting forces of poverty, violence, and patriarchal control. Other influential works include The Hidden Face of Eve (1977), a nonfiction examination of women’s lives and oppression in Arab societies. Saadawi’s outspoken criticism of established institutions led to censorship, imprisonment, and periods of exile. Her legacy continues to influence feminist thought and literature across the world.

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Details
Published
1999
Author
Nawal El Saadawi