Memoirs from the Women's Prison - Translated from the Arabic by Marilyn Booth

Q: Who is Nawal el Sa'adawi and what background does the book provide?

Nawal el Sa'adawi is introduced as an Egyptian feminist, socialist, medical doctor, novelist, and author. The text also notes her public-health career and her dismissal after political writing.

Q: Why was Sa'adawi arrested in 1981?

She was arrested in 1981 together with others for alleged “crimes against the State,” according to the provided summary.

Q: How does the book describe torture in prison?

It emphasizes that torture is driven by doubt and uncertainty, not only by bars, walls, insects, hunger, thirst, insults, or beating.

Oct 15, 2026

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A firsthand, forceful account by Nawal el Sa'adawi of her imprisonment and the women she encountered there. It describes months in jail, highlighting how torture and suffering operate through fear, uncertainty, and abuse beyond physical restraints. The narrative situates her arrest in 1981 for alleged crimes against the state, recounts her release after President Sadat’s assassination, and presents the political and social realities faced by imprisoned women.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages208

Reading Time5 h 20 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

Part I: The Arrest

Prison

Part III: Piercing the Blockade

Part IV: Out to the Investigation

Part V: The Death of Sadat

Part VI: The Final Part

NawalelSa'adawi MEMOIRS FROM THETranslated from the Arabicby Marilyn Booth 'I tossed and turned upon the wooden board,unable to close an eyelid.I became aware thattorture in prison is not inflicted by means of thebars,or the walls,or the stinging insects,orhunger or thirst or insults or beating.Prison isdoubt.And doubt is the most certain of tortures' Nawal el Sa'adawi is a leading Egyptian feminist,socialist,medical doctor,novelist and author of aclassic work on women in Islam,The Hidden Face ofEve.She had a distinguished career as Director ofHealth Education in the Ministry of Health in Cairo,until she was dismissed summarily from her post in1972,as a consequence of her political writing andactivities.Worse was to follow,for in 1981 she wasarrested,together with some thousands of others,foralleged 'crimes against the State'.She was released onlyafter the assassination of President Sadat. This book is her powerful account of those months injail,and of the other women she met there,some ofthem political radicals like herself,others veiled Islamicconservatives,all observed with the sympathy anddirectness of the novelist. ISBN 0-7043-4002-XUnited Kingdom:3.95070434002× 0000The Women's Press Ltd34 Great Sutton Street,London ECIV ODX M<. Nawal el Sa'adawi is a leading Egyptian feminist,sociologist,medical doctor,novelist and author of the classic work on women inIslam,The Hidden Face of Eve.She had a distinguished career inpublic health,both in Egypt and abroad,until,in 1973.she wasdismissed from her post as Director of Health Education in theMinistry of Health in Cairo;and eight years later imprisoned foralleged 'crimes against the State'. She lives in Cairo with her writer husband;she has a grown-updaughter(also a writer)and a son;and continues to write(she hashad 22 books published,several of them now translated intoEnglish,including the well loved novel Woman at Point Zero)andto campaign internationally for freedom and justice for women andmen. # Memoirs from theWomen's Prison Translated from the Arabic by Marilyn Booth First published in English byThe Women's Press Limited 1986A member of the Namara Group34 Great Sutton Street,London ECIV ODX Copyright CNawal el Sa'adawi 1983Translation CMarilyn Booth 1986 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data el Sa'adawi,Nawal Memoirs from the Women's Prison 1.el Sa'adawi,Nawal2.Political prisoners—Egypt—Biography I.Title HV9843 365'.45'0924 ISBN 0-7043-4002-X Typeset by MC Typeset.Chatham,Kent.Reproduced,printed and bound in Great Britain byHazell Watson &Viney Limited,Member of the BPCC Group,Aylesbury,Bucks Dedication To all who have hated oppression to the point of death,Who have loved freedom to the point of imprisonment,And have rejected falsehood to the point of revolution. To everyone who raised a voice in protest and angerWhen they broke down my door by force of armsAnd led me to prison on the sixth of September 1981. To all of those men and women,young people andchildren Within Egypt and outsideI dedicate this book. Nawal el Sa'adawiCairoMarch 1982 Contents Part I: The Arrest Prison Part II: Part III: Piercing the Blockade Part IV:Out to the Investigation Part V: The Death of Sadat Part VI:The Final Part 1 27 133 142 169 195

FAQs

Who is Nawal el Sa'adawi and what background does the book provide?

Nawal el Sa'adawi is introduced as an Egyptian feminist, socialist, medical doctor, novelist, and author. The text also notes her public-health career and her dismissal after political writing.

Why was Sa'adawi arrested in 1981?

She was arrested in 1981 together with others for alleged “crimes against the State,” according to the provided summary.

How does the book describe torture in prison?

It emphasizes that torture is driven by doubt and uncertainty, not only by bars, walls, insects, hunger, thirst, insults, or beating.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by McGucket