If by feminism is meant women's claim to the same rights as men enjoy
then the first feminists were those of ancient Egypt. The most casual
observer can hardly fail to notice how, in ancient monuments and
inscriptions, queens sat side by side with their royal consorts and
received the same royal honours. Women in ancient Egypt undoubtedly
enjoyed a considerable measure of freedom; their position was an honoured
one and it may well be that they had a voice in the councils of state.
They certainly had such a voice under the New Empire (1555-712 B.C.).
During that period a woman, Queen Hatshepsut (1495 B.C.) was co-regent
with her father King Thutmosis. Hatshepsut sought and claimed more than
the power of royalty. She secured for herself its outward attributes. Not
only did she wear the insignia of sovereignty but she also fastened to her
chin the ceremonial beard of the Pharaohs.She was a woman of

enterprise and determination; under her rule expeditions set out from
Egypt to distant lands and she ordered the exploitation of the turquoise
mines of Sinai. Of lovely Queen Nefertiti we know little except her
loveliness. At any rate she did not disfigure her perfect features by
wearing a beard !

The beauty of Cleopatra is legendary and yet history does
not record whether she was dark or fair, tall or short. She, like
Hatshepsut was an ambitious Queen but, "having swayed the rod of empire"
she was to die with her ambitions unfulfilled. Perhaps the most eloquent
epitaph to Cleopatra was that of her waiting-maid. "How did she die?"
asked a Roman officer. "Right well" replied the maid "and worthily of the
descendant of a line of kings". The next great woman in Egyptian history
was not a queen. Hypatia, immortalized in Kingley's novel, was one of the
finest characters in history. It is sad to think that so much learning, so
much wisdom and so much beauty should have met with so brutal a death.
Wth the Arab conquest a new era set in. Women were
more secluded; they took little part in public affairs. But it would seem
that the women of Egypt retained their characteristics; they still liked
to walk abroad, they still liked to talk. For we find the eccentric ruler,
Hakim (A.D. 996-1021) making laws forbidding shoemakers to make shoes for
women. Hakim hoped thus to prevent them leaving their homes but history
does not relate whether he achieved his purpose. He also forbade women to
use the public baths "so as to prevent them from gossiping"
The Mameluke period comprised the reign of a great
queen. Shagaret Ed Dur (literally "tree of pearls") seized the throne of
her dead stepson and when the country cried out against the rule of a
woman she prudently invited a Mameluke to share the throne with her.
Shagaret's pilgrimage to Mecca was the origin of the ceremony, now a
yearly one, of the "Holy Carpet". She also founded a military band which
gave daily performances at the Citadel. It is sad to record that Shagaret
Ed Dur met a terrible death at the hands of a rival's slave-women. One of
the loveliest mausoleums in the Eastern Cemetery of Cairo is, or rather
was, (for only part of it remains) that of Princess Toghay, the wife of
Sultan En Nasir Mohammed. She also performed the pilgrimage to Mecca and
although she had been born slave it is said that no queen's pilgrimage
ever equalled hers for magnificence. She must have been generous as well
as great for her chroniclers tell that she freed no fewer than one
thousand female slaves.
A certain amount of misconception exists in many
Western minds as to the status of women in Islamic countries and, more
particularly in Egypt, It is true that until recent years a Western woman
enjoyed a greater amount of freedom in regard to leaving her home and
choosing a career, But it is not always realised that the Egyptian woman
has always, in some respects, enjoyed a freedom denied to her Western
sister or only recently attained by her. Her property for instance is
entirely her own; she can dispose of it as she pleases without having to
obtain her husband's consent, Economic independence of this nature is
hardly compatible with the subservience and indeed enslavement of women
which has so often been described or implied in books about Egypt,

Actually, even when the system of the seclusion of women was in full
force, Egyptian women exercised very much more influence than is commonly
supposed. In the first place the early education of their children was
entirely in their hands for, at the time, no primary or elementary schools
were in existence, Interpolated among many somewhat critical remarks we
find in Lane's "Manners and Customs" the following significant sentence:
"It is important to observe that an affectionate respect for parents and
elders inculcated in the Hareem fits the boy for an abrupt introduction
into the world", And again: "It might be imagined that the women of the
higher and middle classes feel themselves severely oppressed and are much
discontented with the state of seclusion to which they are subjected; but
this is not commonly the case"
A case can undoubtedly be made out against the
seclusion of women, Like every other social system it had its drawbacks,
In Egypt, at the present day, it is little more than a memory. But it
would be wrong to suppose that now vanished system was entirely irksome to
the women who lived under it. Against the handicap of being unable to
adopt a career they had the comforting assurance that they would be
provided for throughout life to old age. Be that as it may, there are very
few restrictions on the activity of Egyptian women at the present day. The
principle of compulsory education for girls as well as for boys has been
adopted by the Egyptian Government. In 1945 there were under the control
of the Ministry of Education, 4856 Elementary Schools, 60 primary schools
for girls, and 15 training colleges, 27 Technical Schools for girls,
413,156 pupils were receiving tuition therein. To these figures must be
added the very large number of Egyptian girls who receive their education
at one or other of the many foreign schools in Egypt. The latter schools
and colleges, particularly those directed by nuns, have already educated
several generations of Egyptian women.

In the realm however of higher education Egyptian women receive the
same training, and under the same conditions, as Egyptian men. The
Egyptian university has its women undergraduates ,vhile Egyptian women are
free to qualify as doctors, lawyers and professors.Government service, in
certain Ministries, is open to women and trained Egyptian girls are
claiming and obtaining an ever greater share of positions in industry,
commerce and applied arts.

Egyptian woman writers are also making their mark. Curiously enough the
"best selling" works of Egyptian authoresses have been published not only
in Arabic but also in many foreign languages.

This is due partly to the education which many women of the Egyptian
upper classes receive and partly to the bilingual, and indeed trilingual,
character of Egyptian society. It is rare to find an educated Egyptian,
whether man or woman, who cannot speak one or two foreign languages as
well as the Mother tongue.

In what way will emancipation affect the future of the Egyptian woman?
The demand that, by means of the vote, she should have the same political
rights has not so far reached very considerable proportions. The trend of
feeling seems to be that political power is likely to follow rather than
to precede the Egyptian woman's assertion of her full economic and social
rights. In these directions, although much has been achieved, a great deal
remains to be done. The interest and activity displayed by Egyptian women
in everything appertaining to infant welfare, mothercraft, education,
hygiene and social work would appear to conJirm the impression that in
these directions rather than in political activities lie the immediate
outlet for feminine enterprise and labour.It is in regard to these

activities that the First Lady in the Land, Her Majesty Queen Farida,
sets a shining example. Every good cause connected with the physical and
moral welfare of Egyptian womanhood is assured of her active support. One
of the first functions which she attended after her marriage was a charity
fete which it is relevant to mention here because its organisation and
object were typical of the work done by Egyptian ladies on behalf of their
less fortunate sisters. In aid of the Oeuvre Mohammed Ali which is devoted
to the care of mothers and babies, the fete, under Queen Farida's
patronage, was organized by women members of the Royal Family and of the
Egyptian aristocracy. It was held in a palace which had once belonged to
Mohammed Ali himself and in that beautiful setting, the thousand-and-one
nights were revived. The dancing, the gorgeous costumes, the splendours of
old oriental scenes were, to the thousands of beholders an unforgettable
delight. The whole entertainment was a striking manifestation of art as
the handmaiden to charity

It has been mentioned elsewhere that Egypt is in many
respects the musical and artistic centre of the Near East. The Egyptian
woman's contribution in this domain is very considerable. One of the
favourite singers in Egyptian wireless programmes is a woman (Om Kalsom)
whose gramophone records find a ready sale from Tangier to Teheran. In
Egyptian films great success has been achieved by women actresses while
much excellent work in recent art exhibitions at Cairo has been the work
of Egyptian women painters There can be little doubt that, as time passes,
the aspirations and  talents of Egyptian women will find more and
more channels of expression and meet with ever greater recognition in
other lands as well as in their own. Egyptian delegates have for some
years past attended the meetings of the International Council of Women; on
at least one of these occ'asions an Egyptian woman has acted as chairman.
From this and other contacts with their sisters in other lands Egyptian
women gain the confidence which is a necessary adjunct to their newly
acquired emancipation ; they profit by the experience and knowledge of
other women. In return they show by their enterprise and achievements that
the Egyptian woman, without sacrifice of what is best in oriental
tradition and sentiment, is rapidly building up for the womanhood and
girlhood of Egypt an honoured place in the modern world.

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