In Honor of Nawal El Saadawi, "Daughter of Isis," 1931-2021

The Arab world's leading feminist activist and writer, Nawal El Saadawi died on Sunday March 21, 2021. She was 89.
Between 1993-1997, Dr. El Saadawi spent four years at Duke University. She sheltered with us after Islamists in Egypt published "Nawal El Saadawi in the Witness Box," a widely available, cheap book that made the case that this "heretic" should be condemned to death. It was at Duke University that she first taught undergraduates. She was an immediate success in the classroom. Her Dissidence and Creativity classes inspired countless students. It was at Duke University that she wrote the first two volumes of her autobiography translated into English as "Daughter of Isis" and "Walking through Fire" as well as her very controversial "God Resigns at the Summit." She was writing the third volume during the past five years of her life when illness prevented completion.
On Monday, March 29, 2021, a panel of friends and colleagues addressed her impact on them before and while she was at Duke University.
Introductions:
• Ranjana Khanna, Duke University
• Ellen McLarney, Duke University
Tribute:
• miriam cooke, Duke University
Short Reflections:
• Bruce Lawrence, Duke University
• Zimu Niu, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
• Walter Mignolo, Duke University
• Evelyne Accad, Lebanese American University
• Margot Badran, The Wilson Center
• Leila Ahmed, Harvard Divinity School
This panel was cosponsored by Asian & Middle Eastern Studies (AMES); Duke University Middle East Studies Center; Franklin Humanities Institute (FHI); and Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies.