What makes revolutionary thought unique is its clarity and dignity, and its clear grasp of freedom and justice: simple, clear words that are understood without the need for any help from elite writers or thinkers.
Nawal El SaadawiRead
The family code in Egypt is one of the worst family codes in the Arab world. Polygamy. The husband is having absolute power over the family.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques the family structure in Egypt, highlighting issues of polygamy and male dominance.
Nawal El Saadawi's quote sheds light on the oppressive family dynamics prevalent in Egypt, particularly focusing on polygamy and the patriarchal structure that grants husbands undue power over their families. This critique emphasizes the negative impact of such a system on women's rights and family well-being, revealing the broader implications of gender inequality within societal constructs.
Themes
FamilyPolygamyPatriarchyEgyptWomen'S Rights
In practice
Example use cases
A discussion on gender inequality during a women's rights conference.
More from Nawal El Saadawi
All quotes →Yet not for a single moment did I have any doubts about my own integrity and honour as a woman. I knew that my profession had been invented by men, and that men were in control of both our worlds, the one on earth, and the one in heaven. That men force women to sell their bodies at a price, and that the lowest paid body is that of a wife. All women are prostitutes of one kind or another.
Nawal El SaadawiRead
To be creative means to connect. It's to abolish the gap between the body, the mind and the soul, between science and art, between fiction and nonfiction.
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When you have increasing power of religious groups, oppression of women increases. Women are oppressed in all religions.
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My skin is soft, but my heart is cruel, and my bite is deadly.
Nawal El SaadawiRead
Interviewer: What would you say to a woman in this country who assumes she is no longer oppressed, who believes women's liberation has been achieved? el Saadawi: Well I would think she is blind. Like many people who are blind to gender problems, to class problems, to international problems. She's blind to what's happening to her.
Nawal El SaadawiRead
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