Attivista del Mese di Luglio
Nawal El Saadawi (Arabic: نوال السعداوى, born October 27, 1931) is an Egyptian feminist writer, activist, physician and psychiatrist. She has written many books on the subject of women in Islam, paying particular attention to the practice of female genital cutting in her society.
She is founder and president of the Arab Women's Solidarity Association and co-founder of the Arab Association for Human Rights. She has been awarded honorary degrees on three continents. In 2004, she won the North-South prize from the Council of Europe. In 2005, the Inana International Prize in Belgium.
Nawal el Saadawi has held positions of Author for the Supreme Council for Arts and Social Sciences, Cairo; Director General of the Health Education Department, Ministry of Health, Cairo, Secretary General of Medical Association, Cairo, Egypt, and Medical Doctor, University Hospital and Ministry of Health. She is the founder of Health Education Association and the Egyptian Women Writer’s Association; she was Chief Editor of Health Magazine in Cairo, Egypt and Editor of Medical Association Magazine
Advocacy against genital mutilation
At a young age, Saadawi underwent the process of female genital mutilation.[16] As an adult she has written about and criticized this practice. She responded to the death of a 12-year old girl, Bedour Shaker, during a genital circumcision operation in 2007 by writing: "Bedour, did you have to die for some light to shine in the dark minds? Did you have to pay with your dear life a price ... for doctors and clerics to learn that the right religion doesn't cut children's organs." As a doctor and human rights activist, Saadawi is also opposed to male genital mutilation (circumcision). She believes that both male and female children deserve protection from genital mutilation.
FONTE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nawal_El_Saadawi
Is Female Genital Mutilation still an issue in Egypt?
It certainly is! Female genital mutilation is still a serious problem in Egypt, despite the fact that a law was passed to ban this practice, the number of circumcisions has not decreased. The rate of circumcisions amongst young girls is 97%. The government is not serious about banning this practice, nor is the media, they don’t care about the health of young women or girls. It is a corrupt government – they don’t care. They only passed the law to avoid a scandal after a film was shown of a young girl being circumcised and bleeding to death. They are not serious about it. I am still censored on Egyptian television when I speak about this issue in Egypt. Male circumcision is a problem too, I am against that as well, as a doctor. There has been no progress on this front.
FONTE: www.theglobaldispatches.com/articles/nawal-al-saadawi
