Oral History Archive Wedad Mitry

Wedad Mitry is a social service pioneer, an icon of the leftist national movement in Egypt, and one of the suffragettes who fought for women’s rights to vote and run for elections. She graduated in 1952 from the Department of Philosophy, at the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University (then, Fouad I University). She obtained her higher diploma in 1956 from the Journalism, Media, and Translation Institute, before working as a teacher for seven years. She was among the first teachers to introduce journalism in school curriculums, and was also the first to establish a women’s organization in the town of al-Bragil. In the interview, she spoke of her work and education.

Wedad grew up in Shubra in a middle-class family, and was raised with her two sisters by a father who worked as a civil engineer, and a mother, Berlant Awad, who was an educated intellectual and poet. Because of his work conditions and continuous travels, Wedad’s father counted on her to bear the responsibility of the family at an early age, telling her, “You are the man of the house.” She grew up with a constant sense of responsibility that she carried with her all her life.

Wedad attended the American Coeducation Primary School, then al-Nahda Private School in Shubra, where Gamal Abd al-Naser studied in the boy’s section. Wedad received her high-school diploma in science with a desire to study medicine, but her score did not qualify her to enroll in the Faculty of Medicine. She decided to study philosophy because she enjoyed learning under her philosophy teacher Mr. Isaac Hanna, who later worked in the Egyptian radio. Upon her college graduation, she earned a higher diploma in journalism, but was assigned to work as a schoolteacher in Dayrout, in Upper Egypt, despite not applying for the job. What she truly wanted was to work in the radio, but agreed to work as a teacher until an opportunity comes.

Despite her fear of being homesick, and despite her family’s disapproval of her traveling, she managed to live for a year in Upper Egypt, which she described as “the best year ever.” Afterwards, she was transferred to teach in the city of Shebin al-Kom for four years, between 1953 and 1957, describing them as “the best years of my life.” Wedad cherished her teaching job, and saw it as a real chance to pursue her dreams. She taught philosophy and psychology, as well as national education to cover the workload. During this teaching post, she met her student Shahenda Maklad who became her lifelong companion. At that stage of her life, Wedad was involved in cultural activities and social work, such as organizing seminars.

Wedad recalled that this period witnessed two critical events in the history of Egypt: the tripartite attack on Egypt in 1956, and the state granting women the constitutional right to vote and stand for public office. These two events had a great influence on her social and service work, as she recounted, “the attack forced many people to leave their homes. Almost all the cities by the Suez Canal were evacuated and their people displaced. A large number of these people arrived to the city where I was working, so we used to raise donations for them, to secure them with housings and rations to sustain their livelihood. We also had to conduct social surveys to provide support for each family based on its needs. We arranged gatherings and luncheons by the sea for the displaced, and invited them to spend a day with us at school. We stood there serving them and cooking for them. We took a lot of beautiful pictures. It was such a wonderful event.”

Wedad recalled the extensive spread of volunteer work at that time, especially in emergency assistance, such as the ambulance and nursing, under the supervision of the Egyptian Red Crescent. The Morale Forces also trained teachers and students to carry arms. Wedad received the training and was certified after being tested, explaining, “they held an exam for us. Everyone would shoot five bullets. I hit the target three out of five times. This was good enough. It was a great period in Egypt’s history. There was freedom.”

Wedad became preoccupied with registering women in the electoral rolls, with the assistance of her students, among whom was Shahenda Maklad. They surveyed all the women in the city, going door to door, from one street to the next, until their city, and its governorate al-Menoufia, came to represent the largest number of women registered to vote.

Wedad talked about Egypt’s support of the Algerian Revolution in 1954, and her role alongside Jacklin Khoury as members of Algeria’s committee at the World Peace Council. She involved the schoolgirls in the committee’s activities, such as magazine publications. At school, Wedad and her students held conferences and seminars, published magazines, designed wallcharts, and collected donations for Algeria. All these collective efforts were crowned by a large-scale women’s protest demanding the release of Jamila Bouhired, who was sentenced for execution. The women’s protest was led by Saiza Nabarawi and Inji Aflatun. Nuns, schoolgirls, and women from various communities took part in the protest.

In 1957, Wedad returned to Cairo, and worked for two years as a teacher in Tawfik Coptic School, until she was arrested in 1959 for joining the communist movement. She was released after spending five months in prison, but she was barred from teaching, which caused her great pain, as she put it, “it was very cruel because I loved teaching and I loved the girls at school.” At first, Wedad was suspended, then she was reassigned to administrative duties in eastern Cairo educational zone, but she did not enjoy the type of work she had to do. With the help of her colleagues, she successfully managed to seek a position at the public relations office, where there was a journalism department. She published a one-page magazine, then later developed its content, by conducting visits to the schools in the educational zone, and covering their news in the magazine.

Although she loved the work, she was pressured by the Teachers Syndicate because she embraced the teachers’ demands, and, with her wide popularity, repeatedly achieved sweeping victory in elections. These pressures culminated in terminating her membership of the Socialist Union, and she lost her elected position as the Union’s Assistant Secretary,  and in turn her position at the Teachers Syndicate, since termination from the Union meant relinquishing any leadership title. Wedad ran again in the Syndicate’s elections and won, but was terminated completely from her work as a result. She explained, “I realized popular success did not matter. It was not needed. They pushed me until I got sick, and limited by efforts, then gradually quit.”

Wedad got married in 1961 to Dr. Saad Luqa, whom she met in a concert at Cairo Opera House. She decided to retire in the 1970s, at the age of 55, to care for her husband in his illness. However, she maintained her engagement in public life, through the seminars, conferences, and organizations. She never quit the struggle that began with fighting the occupation, and persisted towards fighting for the rights of women, peasants, and many others, until the very end.