WOMEN LEADERS OF MODERN EGYPT.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3143, 13 November 1922, Page 8

WOMEN LEADERS OF MODERN EGYPT.

(By Grace Thompson Seton). How is Egypt modern, and why should there be women leaders? Why should some women in Egypt have stepped out of their harems and, dangling their veils beside them, be working day and night to bring independence to their country —a true independence ai» they see it, both political and social? To answer this politically, one must go hack a little into Egypt's history. To answer Tt'socially, one has only to know that the world-wavo of selfdetermination began to lap the mental shore of educated Egypt about ten yotirs ago, and that it had been gathering in volume ever since, and that it received new impetus- during the great war. It has swept over conventions and inhibitions of women as well as men, and has carried with it the various forms of civic progress —schools, hospitals, dispensaries, welfare, hygiene, and sanitation. It is now forty years s-iiu. i England first took a. hand in straightening out Egypt. Her grip has tightened and loosened and tightened again, in a long series of acts under a few wise administrators of exceptional ability—Lord Cromer, Lord Kitchener, and Lord Allenby. Tremendous have been tho improvements for Egypt accomplished by these Englishmen : Oppression relieved, laws nlailo and law courts established where tho peasant could find protection; trade encouraged, commerce developed, especially along the line of Egypt's great staple, cotton; tho Assuan Dam completed and, bv that triumph of engineering skill, tho opening for agriculture of vast tracts of desert adjacent to the Nile; various dispensaries and hospitals established for the relief of suffering. All this the English have done, and more. Going along with these benefits—and the one that must bo considered tho greatest of them all, as a factor in the present "political unrest"—is tho changing social condition due to tho advance of education. The teaching of the printed word has brought to Egypt the whole world —what it is doing and feeling. Education has freed the power of thought and expression throughout the upper and middle classes and has filtered down to tho peasants, whose patient toil is the wealth of Egypt. Credit for the spread of education, however surprising it may seem, must bo given largely to the efforts of French and American missionaries, and it began over sixty years ago. • No intelligent Egyptian, and certainly none of the Zaghlulists (as the In, dependent Nationalists are familiarly called, after their leader), denies the benefits that England has worked out m Egypt. But the itch for independence has spread like a fever through all classes; even as a child, grown-up, ' and educated by a parent, seeks to throw off the discipline of a stem guardian—so the Nationalists are struggling to throw off the heavy hand of England. Through the High Commissioner's intercession, this has been accomplished in part, hi February, 1922, the British Protectorate was withdrawn, also martial law which had been in the land more or less for seven years. And the Sultan was graduated into King of "the Kingdom of Egypt." Meanwhile, the real leaders of this strange land of the Nile, Saad Zaghlul lasha and tho group around him, were banished to the Island of Seychelles m the Indian Ocean; and they remained banished. Egypt looked with suspicion upon a King and a Premier and his Cabinet, which were set up by the British and did not represent the will of the people; and Egypt "quieted down" only in tho newspapers. The political agitation went on ; the women for the first time took a hand in. public affairs. They were tho wives, daughters, and sweethearts of tho banished leaders, who iorined a militant political group, and and also other leaders in tho larger new-woman movement. It would he a surprise to most readers ot the Occident to see these womou m conventional clothes, and to realise that instead of being pampered and bejewelled dolls or slaves they have broken out of purdah (seclusion of woman) and are using all the modern methods both for their political opposition and for their general welfare work. <; L x et -S H co, , l ' sid^ r the political group &'ih n j ' Wafd (delegation? loi the Independence of Egypt" is composed of women drawn from the ever-widening circle of the New Woman who ,s demanding her "place in the sun' all over this whirling world of ours Whether history writes the record of these women as political agitators, or as patriots, their work is remarkable; and especially so in a, country where women hav been suppressed and considered the chattel ol! man, where until recently she has been hidden out of sight and not so much as tho mention 0 t her name has been allowed in public. Inspired by a deep patriotism which suppression has brought to the. point oi fanaticism, these women work for the release ot their leader, Saad Zaghnl Pasha, and for the men who have fc. f| lk ' d mth him ' i,ml «Js° for ! those Mho are removed by prison walls rom carrying on their efforts to break down the power of the English and of be Zarwat ministry. They claim that -he piesent Government, under King I'uad I- and his cabinet, does not re" K»W y Egyptian people; that the \ mW. er V Zar , wa 1 t I , asha ,y ll °t even ' an Egyptian but a Tunisian, and that hj s cabinet consists of men from the ', old Pashadom, or titled class, whick the English suppressed because of their exploitation; of the lower elates ! eapecially the fellaheen, or peasants?' J v'Jtul H 1 further, that the wholo 1 vicious circle is begun again, that tho ■ Egyptian people will be udged by » these men and that the precious opportunity to show that the Egyptians : tan govern themselves will be lost, be- i cause the only men who are the real * leaders ot Egypt-with Saad Zaghlul « fiSH ut 1 tI « ar 1 head-are banished, » imprisoned and suppressed by tin ; stern use ol England's superior power. t On the other hand, the case is not - so simple. A long presentation of it < is not germane here, but it must be < remembered that Egypt has a remark- ' able soldier and statesman, one of the* T world figures to-day, the conqueror of •> lalest.ne, adjudicating the case of ! England versus Egypt Field-Marshal } Viscount Allenby, G.C.8., G.CMG ' etc., so far as possible, considering all ' the varied interests involved. has v shown himself sympathetic toward " Egyptian national aspirations. Hej s tried to treat with the Independent ( -Nationalists, as they were originally " styled but he found the, attitude of s haad Zaghlul Pasha so uneompromis- ° ingly Egypt for Egypt alone," and the fiery spirit of rebellion and re- A pnsal so strong, that he finally ban- b .shed Zaghlul Pasha, to Malta? then »> permitted him to reside in Paris and '» finally, alter two years, to return to A fcgypt. ~ On that occasion, in the autumn of yW2l. fcgypt gave Zaghlul Pasha, a tie- tl mendous ovation. The country went y> Wild with enthusiasm. But so'on the ii old friction produced more serious T riots, and the measures used by the ol English to suppress these attacks on tl life and property resulted in further w reprisals by the Egyptians, who took ti a "'life for a life" in the struggle to t,

free their country from foreign domination. At the beginning of 1922, Lord Allenby for the second time, "for public safctyj" banished Zaghlul Pasha and some of the principal leaders of the Independent Nationalists. Then it was that the women* for tho first time stepped into the limelight. Women when roused to action are more singhnninded than men. "Tho female of tho species is more deadly than the male," as Kipling says. In tho days when the Red Indian was leading' a savage life, and the weak went down before tho strong, it was the old women of the tribe who sharpened their teeth that they might better tear at the prisoners who wero to he sacrificed. In the French Revolution, when Paris was a shambles, the women were more merciless and more dauntless than the unmerciful and undaunted men. The tricoteuses, or knitting-women, never dropped a stitch while they attended the gory business of the guillotine. The fire of spiritous rebellion is in the heart of every woman in the Zaghlulist party. The treatment meted out to her loved ones and to her Egypt, the military suppression of what she considers her just and proper rights, has crystallised the martyr spirit in her. She has adopted the slogan of her indomitable leader, Mine. Zaghlul Pasha: Nous irons—jusqu'au bout (We shall go on—till the end). The methods of the "Ladies Wafd" are essentially modern. They originated the boycott against English goods and have carried on that campaign with vigor. They organised women's committed in the big cities and in the provinces, and recently had a reunion in Cairo of more than 2000 women who had made political speeches and vowed continued effort to boycott the English and English goods. These women also instituted the street manifestations; and a parade of women, many of them still veiled, is no longer a novelty, nor is it unusual even to see a- woman standing in a motor-car haranguing the crowd. All this means that, lifted out of the normal, women are capable of supreme sacrifice and of unflagging, un* deviating concentration for an idea. It explains the tremendous gulf that has been bridged from the Oriental "shut-in" to the modern militant. When Zaghlul Pasha—President of the Egyptian Delegation, was permitted to return from hie first banishment, Egypt roared itself hoarse with a hun-dred-mi lc cheer from Alexandria to Cairo. The train was held back by human hands, so great were the crowds all along the railroad. The Egyptian Mail of April 1 6, 1921, described the event in Alexandria under the heading "A Record Ovation for Lord Zagblu!" : "Behind 1 a cyclist detachment came a. procession of motor cars. The first, a. closed car (Aly Bey Tahmy's .if I am not mistaken), was completely covered with flowers and inside a- veiled lady acknowledged the frenzied cheering of the crowd, saluting with both hands. She was Madame Zaghlud Pasha. "Many other Egyptian ladies followed, peering out from their cars at the amazing scene. There were detachments of Boy Scouts. There were groxipH of Girl Guides, in dark blue dresses, white floating veils, and red ties. "In Alexandria a dance was also given, in honor of Madame Zaghlul Pasha, at the house of Ga-far Fakhri Bey, to which many ladies of the highest Egyptian families were invited." These extracts show the changing times —ladies appearing in public scenes and at a dance with men other than their relatives, and also Boy Scouts and Girl Guides penetrating to Africa. The power back of the Zaghlulist party to-day is Sophia Haneni (Lady Sophia)-, the wife of Egypt's banished leader. She was married in 1896 at the age of twenty to Saad Pasha, as be is affectionately known, and is many years his junior. On December 23, 1921. she grasped the fa ling mantle of her husband and draped it over the habara and the veil. She said: "Saad Pasha lives —is here—so long as I. his wife, am here." Men, as well as- women, throughout Egypt look upon the ZaghhiT heme in Cairo, popularly called the "Honiso of the Nation," as the Mecca of 'their hopes and aspirations. Streams of people call upon Sophia Hanom. dozens, hundreds, daily. She has brushed aside conventions and customs when the need has arrived. Her drawing-room is filled with women from all classes, even the peasants. In the big hall of her home -he receives delegations of men—she. a high-born Moslem —men from the provinces, and 1 from the big cities. Standing, with her head draped but unveiled, die hears what they have to say; and then—another tradition shattered—she talks 1 to them.l She pours ho)>o and enthusiasm into them with a. quiet dynamic; eloquence that often reduces her liidienee to team. From her radiate the activities of he "Independents." The following ire some of the women around her:— Mine. Nif't Ratib Pasha in a member »f the "Ladies' Wafd" and of the E.\ieutive Committee of "La Kemine Nou.elle." and is ail indefatigable worker. )ne has only to look at that patient, leterniined face with the full lips and 1 ilniond eyes of the true Egyptian' to •oaliso that her contributions to the women's activities are generous and ireless. She is wearing the habara. he conventional head covering of the ipper class, which is always black. In bis ease it. is ol' eliameu.se satin, but isually is of taffeta silk. She has ptilld down the. white chiffon veil, or i louUra, from its proper position over i he nose, often now the gauzy oil is draped below the nose, or eveil iclow the mouth, and the boukra is \ ast becoming a symbol only. Even hese progressive women, however, anil no hurry to abolish it altogether, as hey are essentially daughters of Eve ( nd know that the veil is very bcconiii <r. i This I realised in the photograph of I line. Hiula Schraoui Pasha, which i ives very little idea of her beauty. Hie ( utin complexion, the large expressive yes, and the refined full curves of her I ace. Her hair is dressed flat on lop \ nd full behind, for the best effect of < be habara. which she has just removed. I line. Hod'a Schraoui belongs to the ex- <. lusive Pashadom, out of tin- seclusion i f which her convictions have forced s er into a position of prominence in t Egyptian affairs. Her unusual charm t ud executive ability have made her t ot only president of Hie " Ladies' t /iifd" but honorary president of "La ( 'emme Nouvelle," which is an organ- ff ■ation of several hundred Kgyptian v omen, Moslem and Copts, whose ami v ; not political but social in the larger < ■use. It furthers the welfare work of ~ ic nation and introduces modern ethods of dealing with education, nutation, hygiene, and other problems the country. As one looks at the face of .Mile. Aida a arcos Haiina one cannot realise that a 'hind this smiling exterior is a heavy S i ■art. Her uncle and he fiancee are \\ >th exiled with Zaghlul Pasha. Mile. ; ; ida and her sister Alary are daughters |, .Marcos Hanna Bey, a prominent law- () >r. and nieces; of Sinnot Bey Hanna K | le exile, whose wife and nineteen- s ■ar-old daughter, CamilJe, 1 first met AV the Boutros' Ghali Pa hue in Fagga.la. ley are always dressed in the height s| the French fashion. Being Copts—- ti i«t is. native Christians —they do not I) :-ar "the veil," which is a d'istinc- oi vc Moslem custom. In a gentle, de- tl irniined' way. they are all active ii\ n<

welfare as well as- political work. The; speak wonderful English,, amdl it was relief to alt concerned' to give m; sketchy and overworked French a rest Indeed, as 1 . French is the language o polite society among the Caireaus an Alexandrians, a knowledge of the lan guage is essential. These women a] speak Arabic, and many of them Ttn i linn and English, although English i not popular among the Zaghlul ists. Mine. Sophia is the wife of Youmsc Bey Beutrouß Ghali, who is a memhc of the Men's Independent Wafd. Sh is young, beautiful, an heiress, and 1 true-blooded Egyptian. She is wcairiu; the habara, but has dropped the veil Her attire is the latest thing frot: Paris, silk tricot blouse, satin slipper and all. She is) active in the w elf air work of "La. Femme Nouvelle," an« Bhe and her sister-in-Taw work fo Egypt's Independence. They are hot staunch supporters of Saad Pasha am< labored unsparingly during the recall English boycott, which was a decide* contributing factor in demonstrate; that the self-determination of the Na tionafists was no passing whim. To a careles world the striiggh going on in Egypt is a "political agita tion," for England to handle. To tin "agitators" it is a, life-and-death af fair. It cannot be said that the two en thusiastic foreign wives of Copts Mine. Wacyf Boutrous Ghali and Mine Iliad Kanous arc leaders in the mo dern woman's movementj they an both lieutenants. They do not ever lielonu; to the Ladies' Delegation, 01 the Central Committee of "La Fcinm* Nouvelle," the leaders of which arc all true Egyptians and most of then Moslems. The sympathies of Hilda Fanous seem absolutely merged with the. country into which she has married. Hei husband, a native of Cairo, spent many years in America studying medicine. It was in Baltimore" the city of her birth, that Hilda at the age ol fifteen first met Dr. Riad Fanous, while he was a student at Johns Hopkins University; and a few years later she married him in spi£o of opposition. Apparently she has seen no reason to regret her decision. Her father, Henry Hainni, still lives in Baltimore, and her brother Albert was in' the aviation section of the United States Army during the war, while Hilda responded to the call of England and the Allies. In common with all these modern women, she qualified for nursing and stuck to the hospital work for over two years. She learned French in the convent at Baltimore, and now has added Italian and Arabic. She said to me: "Please correct the idea in America that we are barbarians, or even worse. Two ladies from Ohio forced themselves upon Mine. Zaghlul Pasha yesterday, when she was receiving her friends. They brushed past the astonished servant at the door, stood in the middle of the reception room, looked at us as though we were a circus, felt of the sofa pillows and window draperies to see if they were silk, and asked Mme. Zaghlul Pasha, 'How many wives has your husband?' They seemed incredulous when she replied, after a stunned silence at the rudeness of it, 'My husband has no wife but me.' 'Have you any bathrooms?' was the next question, after they had exclaimed several times that they thought all Egyptians had as many wives as thev could afford. They asked all kinds of rude questions, and seemed to have no idea of the courtesy required in polite society. I was ashamed of the country of my birth." Another Modernist leader is Mme. Annua, wife of Dr. Mahmoud Bcv Siclky, who has cast aside her habarii for a trip into Italy. Most of the wealthy women of Cairo and Alexandria go to Europe in the summon. They pack away the silk and chiffon symbols and step out of purdah, and do not return to la vie grotesque until they land again upon their native shores. Mme. Bey Sidky is a voting matron, the mouther of two babies. She lias a, charming home in Old Cairo, of the more modest type, and does much workin the larger field of women's activities represented by "La Femme Nouvelle," of which she is president. This means she carries responsibilities of the same relative importance as those of the president of our General Federation of Women's Clubs, or of the president of the National Woman Suffrago Association in the "piping days" before the enfranchising amendment. The crowning beauty in this country of beautiful women is Mile. Senni'a Uiaz Pasha. This gorgeous young woman belongs to a. wealthy and powerful family, and combines brains with beauty. She is active in the "vounger set,'' hut finds much time to'do tho club and welfare work and even to assist in the dangerous political manifestations which the women have staged in the last two years. Kgypt wants to he free—free not only from England, but from the shackles of ignorance and superstition, that is why there is a. ZnghlulisU party and why there are women leaders. They give their money, energy, and heart, to their Egypt;'and thev rally to the support of the standard's forced from the hands of the exiles for "men may conic and men may go," hut the ideal goes on forever. In tho words of Mme. Zaghlul Pasha : "Tho Egyptians, are like their desert sand. \ou can walk over it and over it—hut one day it rises up in a mighty storm and sweeps over you, and there is again only sand and "the desert."