Encyclopedia of Islam

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Shaarawi, Huda

 

(1879–1947)  pioneering 

Egyptian feminist leader

Born into an elite family in upper e

gypt

, Shaarawi 

was raised in c

airo

. Although her father, a promi-

nent government official died when she was four, 

she continued to lead a privileged childhood. She 

was instructed along with her only brother in all 

subjects but Arabic, which was deemed inappro-

priate for a young girl. As a result Shaarawi became 

fluent in Turkish and French and had memorized 

the q

Uran

 by the age of nine. However, she also 

became conscious from an early age of differences 

in gender norms. She was married at the age of 13 

to her paternal cousin, Ali Shaarawi, but months 

later a dispute led to a seven-year separation. This 

period served as a crucial developmental time, 

allowing her to continue her studies with foreign 

tutors. She also met Eugénie Le Brun, a French 

woman who became her mentor and began attend-

ing her weekly salon, where Islamic modernist 

ideas concerning 

Women

 were discussed. Shaarawi 

was exposed to new ideas about veiling, seclu-

sion, 

edUcation

 for girls, and Egyptian family law, 

known as the personal status codes.

In 1900 she was reconciled to her husband and 

resumed married life. After the birth of two chil-

dren she dedicated the next several years to raising