While discussions about the history of Egypt’s feminist movement usually center around people such as Huda Al-Shaarawi, Doria Shafiq, Nabawiya Musa, Malak Hifni Nasif, and the more contemporary Nawal Al-Saadawi, a more obscure – but arguably just as interesting – figure who deserves more attention than she has received is Sanaa’ Al-Masry (1958-2000). A quick Google search reveals the lack of information about her and may also say something about the general climate in Egyptian society in the 1980s and 1990s, when she was most active. However, an article in the Journal of International Women’s Studies, which is partly based on unpublished manuscripts by Al-Masry, helps shed some light on this little-known women’s rights champion. Unlike many other prominent Egyptian feminist activists during the 1980s and 1990s, Sanaa’ Al-Masry, being a Marxist, acted independently from formal organizations, including the state and opposition groups and did not want to be associated with groups that received funding from Western bodies. The demise of Gamal Abdel Nasser’s “state feminism” during the 1970s onwards had ushered in a period under President Anwar Sadat that was marked by a proliferation of private initiatives and the…
