Founds the Egyptian Feminist Union and becomes its first president, creating Egypt’s first nationwide, explicitly feminist organization.
In 1923, in the aftermath of the 1919 revolution and her celebrated unveiling, Huda Sha’arawi founded the Egyptian Feminist Union (EFU) and became its first president.[1][2][5] This organization was the first nationwide, explicitly feminist body in Egypt and quickly became the leading voice for women’s rights.
The EFU drew together middle‑ and upper‑class women who had participated in nationalist activism and now sought to address gender inequality directly. Its program prioritized expanded access to education, reforms to marriage and divorce laws, an end to polygamy and child marriage, and ultimately women’s political rights, including suffrage.[1][13]
The founding of the EFU marked the institutional birth of the modern Egyptian women’s movement.[2] Under Sha’arawi’s leadership, the union established schools and clinics, organized lectures, and published journals, while also lobbying government officials and international forums. It affiliated with the International Woman Suffrage Alliance and positioned Egyptian women within a global feminist network.[1][9]
Although 1923 Egypt was still under strong British influence and dominated by conservative social norms, the EFU’s emergence demonstrated that women could organize autonomously and articulate an agenda that linked gender justice to national progress. The union’s campaigns contributed to reforms in education and family law over the following decades and inspired similar organizations across the Arab world. Sha’arawi’s presidency made her the undisputed figurehead of Arab feminism between the world wars.[1][2][7]