Once upon a women’s movement, Doria Shafik, Egypt’s renowned suffragate and feminist founded the women’s journal Bint Al-Nil. The Arabic-language magazine appeared on newsstands for the first time in 1945 with the purpose of awakening Egyptian and Arab women to their rights and powers. The final issue of the magazine was in 1957, but Shafik still stands as a pioneer of the feminist movement in Egypt until this day.

The magazine was tailored for women of all interests and passions, it dipped into political activism and social issues, highlighted women in the workforce, focused on nutrition and health information, and featured motherhood and parenting tips. Shafik’s magazine rooted the seeds for the Bint Al Nil Party, the first and only women’s party that was formed in Egypt that aimed to advocate for women’s rights.

 

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