Harem years : the memoirs of an Egyptian feminist (1879-1924)

in This Rare First-hand Account Of The Private World Of A Cairo Harem During The Years Before Egypt Declared Independence In 1922, Shaarawi Recalls Her Childhood And Early Adult Life In The Seclusion Of An Upper-class Egyptian Household, Including Her Marriage At Age Thirteen. Her Subsequent Separation From Her Husband Gave Her Time For An Extended Formal Education, As Well As An Unexpected Taste Of Independence And A Critical Understanding Of The Price Of Confinement. Shaarawi's Feminist Activism Grew Along With Her Involvement In Egypt's Nationalist Struggle And Culminated In 1923 In A Daring Act Of Defiance,when She Publicly Removed Her Veil In A Cairo Railroad Station. publishers Weekly shaarawi, An Early Leader Of Egypt's Feminist Movement, Was The Daughter Of An Upper-class Egyptian And A Turkish Circassian Woman. Raised In A Haremthat Area Of Homes Where The Women And Children In Wealthier Families Were Secludedshaarawi Observed Bitterly That Her Younger Brother Was Treated Better And Taught More Than She. At Age 13 She Was Married, Against Her Wishes, To An Older Cousin Who Already Had A Family By A ``slave-concubine,'' With Whom He Continued To Live At Intervals During His Marriage. In Addition To Noting Such Injustices, Shaarawi Also Offers A Touching Account Of Growing Up In The Middle East At The Turn Of The Century And Of The Peopleparticularly European Women Living In Egypt And Egyptian Women Educated In Europewho Helped Her To Develop A Vision Of A More Just Society. Badran's Epilogue, Quoting Extensively From Shaarawi's Narrative, Covers The Stirring Struggle For Independence From Britain And The Beginnings Of A Women's Movement In Egypt Following World War I. (may) Table of Contents List of Photographs Preface Chronology Introduction PART ONE: THE FAMILY Circassian Relatives My Mother My Father PART TWO: CHILDHOOD IN THE HAREM 1884-92 Two Mothers My Brother THe Eunuchs and the Maid Lessons and Learning Routines and Events Feasts Women Pedlars Family Friends Visiting the Palace Childhood Companions and the Farewell Betrothal to My Cousin The Wedding A New Bride PART THREE: A SEPARATE LIFE 1892-1900 Lessons Again Companionship Attempts at Reconciliation Sojourns in Alexandria Portrait of the Hard Life of a Woman A New Mentor and Her Salon for Women PART FOUR: A WIFE IN THE HAREM 1900-18 Reconciliation A Cure in Paris Being a Mother A Turkish Summer The First "Public" Lectures for Women The Mabarat Muhammad Ali The Intelletual Association of Egyptian Women The Final Illness of Niece Huda A European Summer on the Eve of War Two Deaths The Bridge of Nationalism Epilogue Notes Appendix Glossary Index A firsthand account of the private world of a harem in colonial Cairo—by a groundbreaking Egyptian feminist who helped liberate countless women. In this compelling memoir, Shaarawi recalls her childhood and early adult life in the seclusion of an upper-class Egyptian household, including her marriage at age thirteen. Her subsequent separation from her husband gave her time for an extended formal education, as well as an unexpected taste of independence. Shaarawi's feminist activism grew, along with her involvement in Egypt's nationalist struggle, culminating in 1923 when she publicly removed her veil in a Cairo railroad station, a daring act of defiance. In this fascinating account of a true original feminist, readers are offered a glimpse into a world rarely seen by westerners, and insight into a woman who would not be kept as property or a second-class citizen. In this rare first-hand account of the private world of a Cairo harem during the years before Egypt declared independence in 1922, Shaarawi recalls her childhood and early adult life in the seclusion of an upper-class Egyptian household, including her marriage at age thirteen. Her subsequent separation from her husband gave her time for an extended formal education, as well as an unexpected taste of independence and a critical understanding of the price of confinement. Shaarawi's feminist activism grew along with her involvement in Egypt's nationalist struggle and culminated in 1923 in a daring act of defiance, when she publicly removed her veil in a Cairo railroad station.-- Publisher description B B B In this rare first-hand account of the private world of a Cairo harem during the years before Egypt declared independence in 1922, Shaarawi recalls her childhood and early adult life in the seclusion of an upper-class Egyptian household, including her marriage at age thirteen. Her subsequent separation from her husband gave her time for an extended formal education, as well as an unexpected taste of independence and a critical understanding of the price of confinement. Shaarawi's feminist activism grew along with her involvement in Egypt's nationalist struggle and culminated in 1923 in a daring act of defiance, when she publicly removed her veil in a Cairo railroad station.