Conclusion: It’s a Girl! Gender and the Birth of Modern Egyptian Nationalism

Abstract

Each year, the Egyptian press honors the anniversary of the demonstrations that incited the 1919 Revolution. Usually, women are chosen as the symbols of the revolution, whose participation in the Egyptian nationalist movement attracts the most commentary. Frequently, the press writes stories that specifically draw attention to such women. At the same time, women became aware of the possibilities of the reform of the domestic realm and supported “maternalist” activities as a means of empowering themselves. Concurrently, they supported nationalism as a means of ensuring Egypt's future as well as their own. In 1919, women took to the streets, en masse, in support of the Egyptian independence, nationalism, and liberation from the old order of things. When the revolutionary struggle died down, they organized Egypt's first feminist union, hoping for an extension of their revolutionary activities through participation in elections and parliamentary activities. Having discovered a political voice, and having participated alongside men in the struggle for independence, women thought themselves the rightful heirs to all the political rights that an independent Egyptian polity would grant to men.