Strong Women Sunday: The 1919 Women Revolution

Today, we present to you the first of many information and fun pieces for our Special Week.

Strong Women Sunday : The 1919 Women Revolution- By Fayrouz Ahmed and Amira Gamil

Considering Egypt’s current #MeToo movement, one (especially men) might think that this social issue is new and that feminism is a western idea being forced on the Middle East, however, surprise! Feminism has been around since the beginning of time, and something like the 1919 revolution is proof!

In the early twentieth century, Egypt and Sudan were occupied by the British after World War 1. Due to several questionable and unfair decisions taken by the British officials, Egyptians decided to take their anger to the street, on the 10th of March 1919.

What does Feminism have to do with that, you may ask? Well, let us tell you a little about how society treated women during this period.

Women in the Middle East usually stayed at home, taking care of their families and were not allowed to leave their house. 

So, something as a“women protest” was practically impossible, right?

Well, it wasn’t that hard in Hoda Al Shaarawy’s eyes. 

When the British officials cruelly killed most of the protestors, the pioneering Egyptian feminist leader and founder of the Egyptian Feminist Union, Hoda Al Sharaawy, decided that women should no longer stay at home. The feminist icon then welcomed a bunch of women at her house to plan when and how to participate in the revolution together, as women.

And soon enough, 530 Egyptian women were roaming the streets, walking in two parallel lines with Egypt’s flag in their hands, calling for freedom, independence, and protection. 

This was the first demonstration that was soon followed by other women's demonstrations. It was one of the first times where Egyptian women, from all social classes, reunited together and stood in the name of freedom.

Its protestors ranged from the aristocratic to the middle-class classes, and to the working-class women, from whom martyrs fell in the revolution of 1919.

“The process of organizing the first Egyptian women's demonstration began in my home on the morning of March 16, 1919, to express a hidden feeling and protest against the actions of the British about the abuse of Egyptians”.

Said Hoda Al Shaarawi, on planning for the women’s demonstration.

Similar to Hoda Al Shaarawi, Safiya Zaghloul is one of the most prominent personalities who made a great contribution to igniting the revolution. She participated in the formation of an organization of women in 1919, intending to achieve the national demands of Egyptian women. Following the 1919 revolution, both of Safiya Zaghloul and Hoda Shaarawi stood at the doorstep of Tahrir Square with other women, in a demonstration to strip the hijab in 1923, which was the beginning of a new stage in the dress of Egyptian women, and a part of the female movement in Egypt.

There is also Ceza Nabrawi, who joined the list of those who threatened the British throne in Egypt and was considered one of the pioneers of the women's movement, having participated in organizing and leading the first women's demonstration against the British occupation authorities. 

When the female demonstrators reached Saad Zaghloul Street, on their way to the nation’s house, the British troops were standing to prevent them from walking. Bravely, Hoda Shaarawi yelled at a soldier in English: “We do not fear death, shoot us as you did to Miss Cavill!” The soldier was ashamed, therefore paved the way for the women, and so they carried on with demanding their rights and chanting for justice. (Miss Cavill was an English nurse who was captured by the Germans in World War I and executed by firing squad, and her killing was a sensation in the world).

The first two female martyrs in this revolution were Mrs Hamida Khalil and Shafiqah Muhammad, where Mrs Khalil was leading the protest with chants in front of the British occupation, demanding the return of the exiled leader Saad Zaghloul, and was shot in the chest in front of the Imam Hussein Masjid on March 16, 1919. 

After that, Shafiqa Muhammed came to the headquarters of the British Commissioner at the time, rushing while carrying the Egyptian flag in one hand and the protest statement in another hand. She was shot in the chest and abdomen. Both participated in the women’s demonstration and lead the participants, standing against the British troops fearlessly for the sake of bringing justice, and being solid proof of the power of women.

At that time, women and girls decided to go out from behind the bars of their homes, believing in their role in building the homeland and supporting its issues on an equal basis with men, chanting for the life of the leader Saad Zaghloul and supporting the Egyptian delegation. Their participation in the 1919 revolution crystallized their demands for their right to education up to the university level, political work, party formation, and contribution to advancing the process of development and reform, consequently, the central delegation committee for women was formed in 1920 and Hoda Al Shaarawy was elected as its president.

Although protests and rebellious acts weren't something entirely new for men, it was one of the very few times where women got to take their anger to the streets, and it certainly affected all social aspects of women's lives later on.

Feminism is no new idea, and women have always been raising their voices to get their rights and develop equality in patriarchal societies, but it’s also familiar to see the misogynists silencing the sounds of justice and female power. The female movement is ongoing, and being part of it contributes to destroying the patriarchal system women have been suffering from for years.