An Egyptian activist fighting against female genital mutilation
Marie Assad (1922—2018) was an Egyptian woman who fought for women’s rights against oppression by combatting the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). It was at university when she first started doing research about FGM, which at the time was a taboo topic. She believed this society is patriarchal, however both men and women are oppressed in different ways. Very soon after her degree, she became chairperson of the Egyptian FGM Task Force.
Apart from being a social activist, Marie Assad was an environmentalist, and one of the most successful ideas was to make the Egyptian community engage with environment, no matter who they were, they needed to help all together to make the world a better place. So first, she told people to start recycling at home. This way, they would help the garbage collectors both professionally and socially, since this would give their job more dignity and it would be less difficult to do. Basically, Marie Assad’s help to the environment was through educating the community.
Summing up, Marie Assad was a defender of the dignity and rights of women and a community leader amongst her main characteristics.
Bibliography:
- https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/tribute-to-marie-bassili-assaad
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/S0968-8080%2899%2990124-6
Photo resource: https://egyptianstreets.com/2019/07/25/the-story-of-marie-assad-environmentalist-and-fighter-against-female-genital-mutilation/