Casting off the veil: the life of Huda Shaarawi, Egypt's first feminist

In 1923, when the pioneer of feminist activism, Huda Shaarawi, removed her veil in Cairo's train station, she created what became a landmark (and much-copied) gesture for feminists throughout Egypt and the Middle East.

In Casting off the Veil, her granddaughter Sania Sharawi Lanfranchi uses never-before seen letters and photographs to explore the life and thought of Egypt's first feminist, as she campaigned against the British occupation of Egypt, as well as striving to improve conditions for women throughout the country. _x000D__x000D_Born into a wealthy and powerful Egyptian family, Huda Shaarawi was destined to lead a leisurely life in luxurious settings.

Married at the age to thirteen to a man twenty six years younger than herself, she was also expected to live the life of a demure and loyal housewife of a promient politician.

But instead, she decided to acquire an education and participate in campaigns for the termination of the British occupation of Egypt and the establishment of female suffrage, eventually becoming the figure-head of Egyptian feminism. _x000D__x000D_In the wake of her iconic removal of her veil, she founded the Egyptian Feminist Union affiliated to the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (later the International Alliance of Women), and began publishing a French-language magazine, L'Egyptienne, to circulate information about Egypt's plight and achievements under the occupation.

She soon became - and remained for many years - one of the Vice-Presidents of the International Alliance of Women.

She also involved herself with social and cultural projects, founding schools, a vareity of magazines and newspapers, supporting artists, medical dispensaries and cottage industries, and participating in funding the establishment of the first entirely Egyptian Bank and its many affiliated projects.

From her birth into a wealthy and powerful family, her early years spent in a harem, to her iconic status as one of the most influential feminists in Middle Eastern history, this is a fascinating portrait of a determined and ground-breaking woman, a rich and important story which will captivate everyone with an interest in Egyptian, feminist or colonial history.