Ali Gad al-Haq

By Dr Radhasyam Brahmachari Once upon a time, Egypt was the Arab’s pioneer in women’s rights. “The Liberation of Women”, the first Arab feminist manifesto was published in Cairo, more than a century ago, in 1899. And by 1920s, women were dropping veils; by 1960, the country had more female doctors than many in the West. They won the right to vote and entered politics in 1956 and they could also secure a ban on the despicable practice of female circumcision. At that time, a new bill called the “Personal Status Bill”, that sought to establish absolute equality with males, was in the pipeline.