{"id":4406,"date":"2017-03-11T12:35:03","date_gmt":"2017-03-11T11:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kvinfo.dk.linux150.unoeuro-server.com\/documenting-the-history-of-a-movement\/"},"modified":"2017-03-11T12:35:03","modified_gmt":"2017-03-11T11:35:03","slug":"documenting-the-history-of-a-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.kvinfo.dk\/old\/documenting-the-history-of-a-movement\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Documenting the History of a Movement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Upon disembarking the train in Cairo after participating in the international women\u2019s conference organised by The International Alliance of Women,<\/em> Egyptian feminist Huda Sha\u2019arawi resolutely dropped her headscarf. It was a public, symbolic gesture, which inspired women throughout Egypt to let go of the headscarf. And it marked the emergence of the first feminist movement in Egypt, appearing in the slipstream of the anticolonial liberation movement opposing British rule in Egypt.
\nThere was political upheaval in Egypt. The 1919 uprising was a rebellion against British colonial rule and the daily popular demonstrations, which led to the revolution, had \u2013 for the first time \u2013 mobilised women to participate in the resistance in the streets.
\nIn 1919, Huda Sha\u2019arawi had organised the first women\u2019s demonstration against British rule and she was the founder and remained head of The Egyptian Feminist Union<\/em> for many years. She was an indefatigable advocate and activist for women\u2019s rights and endeavoured to render women visible, active members of Egyptian society. There is a direct correlation between her work and the focus of many feminist organisations in present-day Egypt.
\nHuda Sha\u2019arawi is to all intents and purposes a historical icon, epitomising the history of the Egyptian women\u2019s movement.
\nIcons are at times inspirational, demonstrating the possibility for resistance and progress. However, icons may also claim mainstream historiography to the extent that more nuanced and complex histories are subsumed by it.
\nMaissan Hassan and Diana Magdy Abdel Fattah, project manager and project coordinator from the Women and Memory Forum (WMF) in Cairo work to shed light on the margins of mainstream historiography.
\nA project supported by KVINFO aims to bring Hawa Idris, a less famous Egyptian feminist, out of the shadows of Huda Shara\u2019awi as part of a larger project, which describes the complexities of the history of the women\u2019s movement in Egypt.
\n\u201cMainstream historiography tends to focus on specific historical figures, thus ignoring the wider social movement composed of various individuals. In contrast, our Hawa Idris-project describes how a human rights organisation is founded, organised, and managed: What are the challenges and how are these solved? The project is meant to inspire today\u2019s young feminists,\u201d explains Maissan Hassan.<\/p>\n

Marginalised Narratives<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hawa Idris was a younger cousin of Huda Sha\u2019arawi. Despite their age difference, the two women grew up together, worked together in The Egyptian Feminist Union<\/em>, and, in 1947, Hawa Idris made possible the publication of Huda Sha\u2019arawi\u2019s memoir, The Harem Years<\/em>.
\nToday, Hawa Idris\u2019 memoirs form the basis of WMF\u2019s project.
\nWomen and Memory Forum is a research- and documentation centre for gender and culture in Cairo. WMF promotes the dismantling of gender stereotypes and the advancement of gender research and manages Who is She in Egypt<\/em>, the database of female experts which, like KVINFO\u2019s database, gathers data on female experts from all sectors of society for the benefit of researchers and the media.
\nThe database and the two projects, Remembering Pioneering Women<\/em> and Archive of Women\u2019s Oral History<\/em> (see fact box) constitute the basis of WMF\u2019s work. The first project is a collection of historical documentation on pioneering women whose contributions have remained unrecognised in traditional male-oriented historiographies. The latter project is a collection of oral histories of women from various generations who explore how their personal narratives are embedded in the wider socio-political reality of life in Egypt.
\n\u201cThe very rigid narrative on women\u2019s history in Egypt marginalises a range of other narratives. That is the starting point of our work. There is a need and a demand for alternative narratives in order to broaden the mainstream narrative. This may even inspire the younger generations beyond the feminist movement. Our series on pioneering women presents narratives of actresses and the first generation of female teachers and headmasters. Through their narratives we are able to glean an understanding of the challenges they faced and the resistance they offered,\u201d explains Maissan Hassan.<\/p>\n

The Hawa Idris-project will lead to the publication of her memoirs and the production of a travelling exhibition about both projects. The travelling exhibition is important in order to inspire women throughout Egypt beyond the urban centre of Cairo. <\/p>\n

The History of the Long Haul<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hawa Idris\u2019 memoirs are a testament to the period where she worked for The Egyptian Femnist Union. During the early 1930s, she founded the Youth Committee and represented the organisation internationally, attending a number of conferences at home and abroad. She participated in the establishment of The South-South Collaboration, which enables women from the global South to share knowledge and experiences. Hawa Idris also took part in the daily work and management of the union.
\nThe publication of Hawa Idris\u2019 memoirs thus does not serve as a means to create yet another icon of Egyptian history but rather proposes a narrative, which serves as a historical documentation of organisational work.
\nStarting from scratch after the revolution of January 25 2011, a number of NGOs and other human rights organisations have sprung to light. The Hawa Idris-project offers a historical perspective beyond the founding of The Egyptian Feminist Union, offering insights into the management of the union\u2019s daily affairs, and the resistance encountered from various forces from within and outside the organisation. Rather than proposing a glamourous narrative of feminist heroines, the project presents an account of the long haul of feminist activism in Egypt.
\n\u201cDocumentation is important in and of itself. Documentation has always been a cornerstone of the feminist movement. Documentation offers us an insight into women\u2019s experiences, women\u2019s lives, the battles they have fought. The dynamics and the conflicts that shaped their experiences. The poverty, which held women back. Documenting women\u2019s histories is a feminist practice, which may also be used to argue pivotal points in the present. We create dialogue through our documentation efforts. This dialogue cuts across generations and allows us to relate to various historical trends and events,\u201d explains Diana Magdy Abdel Fattah, pointing out the benefit to current organisations.<\/p>\n

A Tradition for International Perspectives<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Maissan Hassan points out that the feminist movement in Egypt has a tradition for international cooperation and solidarity dating back to the early 20th<\/sup> century. It has always been an important aspect of women\u2019s global history to enable women to recognise themselves in the progress of and challenges faces by other women across class and other social boundaries, e.g. Huda Shara\u2019awi\u2019s inspiration from the Rome conference and Hawa Idris\u2019 participation in numerous conferences and seminars within and beyond the Arab world.
\nWMF\u2019s cooperation with KVINFO, which dates back to 2007, is a continuation of this tradition. Through the years, the two documentation centres have cooperated on various projects, sharing knowledge and inspiration.
\n\u201cThere is a unique connection between the work we do. Having a feminist group (in Denmark, Ed.), which is also engaged in the production and dissemination of knowledge on gender and culture, offers us a space within which we are able to reflect on our respective practices regardless of different social contexts. We speak a lot about the creation of feminist solidarity and its concrete outcomes. One outcome could be the creation of these kinds of spaces, which allow us to query ourselves: \u2018Are we doing this right? What is the best way to represent women\u2019s histories?\u2019\u201d says Maissan Hassan.
\nEnglish translation by Maria Zennaro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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