Saadawi was known as an advocate for women’s rights and fought hard against the widespread practice of female genital mutation.
She was imprisoned and persecuted and received threats from conservatives throughout her life for her bold views.
Saadawi was the founder and president of the Arab Association for Women’s Solidarity and co-founder of the Arab Association for Human Rights. In 1981 she founded a feminist magazine called “Al-Moawgaha” (which translates as “The Confrontation”).
El Saadawi’s most popular books are “Women and Sex” and “Memoirs of a Women’s Prison.”
“Women and Sex” was banned in Egypt for nearly two decades and after its publication, El Saadawi lost his job as director of public health at the Ministry of Health in Egypt.
“Women cannot be liberated in a class society or in a patriarchal society dominated by men. That is why we must get rid of it, fight against class oppression, gender oppression and religious oppression,” she said. Saadawi told CNN in an interview in 2011. “We can’t talk about a revolution without women,” she said.
There has been an outpouring of grief over the news of El Saadawi’s death, and some prominent activists have expressed their condolences on social media.
“Egyptian feminist Nawal El Saadawi is dead. Until I gather my thoughts: rest in power, Nawal,” she added in a tweet.