Amani Farid
Writer, Journalist
Amani Farid is a writer, journalist, and an Egyptian feminist pioneer. She fought alongside Doria Shafiq, Huda Shaarawi, and Hawaa Idris in the struggle to improve women’s conditions. Her writings voiced the revolt against the status of women in society. Amani took part in the marches demanding the women’s right to run for parliament, and in the strike organized at the Journalists Syndicate, which resulted in granting women the right to vote.
Born in Cairo, Amani grew up in al-Sayeda Zeinab district with her father, who worked at the Ministry of Education, and her stepmother, who was of Turkish descent. She had no memory of her birth mother since she died when Amani was very young. Amani’s father was also a writer who published a number of books, and wrote for several weekly political newspapers. At a young age, Amani developed an intense love for learning and education, which was more like a hobby or a talent for her, just like drawing. She inherited from her father his love for learning, reading, and writing. Early in her childhood, Amani read One Thousand and One Nights and Kalila w Dimna, and by the age of nine, her talent for writing began to emerge.
Amani attended kindergarten at al-Saniya School on al-Mubtadayan Street, at al-Qasr al-Aini, for its proximity to her residence, and was taught by many British and French nationals. She also studied the French language under the pioneer Doria Shafiq. Amani enjoyed public speaking and speech-making, and received great encouragement from her Arabic and English language teachers. Her English language teacher even encouraged her to recite English poems at school events. During high school, Amani joined the theater team, and took part in many plays. However, it was not possible for her to pursue a career in acting, because society at the time did not approve of acting as a respected profession.
Amani also participated in several demonstrations in high school. She recounted that during one of these demonstrations, the girls at her school along with those at the Khedivial School marched out of the school premises, and the principal was unable to stop them. They marched towards al-Qasr al-Aini Street, and the hospital nurses chanted along with them from the balconies. Their demonstration marched to Cairo University, and the girls were joined by the university students. After graduating high school, Amani attended the Higher Institute for Education in Zamalek, which later became the College for Girls. She chose to enroll in the Institute, despite her father’s desire that she attended university, because she and her classmates saw that the Institute offered a distinctive education. The Dean of the Institute was British, while the Vice Dean was Asmaa Fahmi, the Egyptian woman pioneer of education, who loved Amani for her academic excellence.
Amani published her first book in the 1940s, under the title Whispers and Gestures, then published An Egyptian Woman in America, in addition to The Egyptian Woman and Parliament, which she considered as a revolutionary book against the status of women in Egypt. Amani’s book accompanied the women’s movement calling for the women’s right to run for parliament -a movement in which Asmaa Fahmi, Somaya Fahmi, Naeema al-Ayoubi, and Mofeida Abd al-Rahman participated. The movement organized demonstrations, in which women from all over Egypt took part, in order to put pressure on the responsible officials. Amani recalled that Mofeida Abd al-Rahman ran for the parliamentary elections at that time. Amani also published her memoirs in a book entitled Days and Memories.
Amani recounted that the pioneer Huda Shaarawi supported her writings, and was like her literary patron, recalling that Shaarawi, before her death, instructed Amani to carry on the women’s struggle for freedom and equal rights. Amani also recalled the support she received from the lawyer Ali Ayoub, a father figure, who helped her early in her career, and played a role in developing her political consciousness. Amani participated in the International Arab Accord Conference, along with Huda Shaarawi and Hawaa Idris. She travelled to a number of countries, for work and pleasure, including Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and France. Amani ran for parliament, with actresses Madiha Yousri and Zouzou Madi, but did not get elected.
Amani worked as a teacher at Mohamed Ali School for Girls, Ghamra School for Girls, then al-Abbaseya Secondary School for Girls. She also traveled to Port Said to work as a schoolteacher, because she wanted to have some independence away from her family, as she put it. Amani worked at the first preparatory school established in Port Said, and taught different school subjects, including the Arabic and English languages, Translation, History, and Geography. She loved teaching for the new knowledge it offered her, and the students loved her because she was young, and joined them in their different activities.
Amani worked as a journalist for several magazines, including al-Balagh, al-Masri, Rose al-Youssef, as well as Makram Ebeid’s al-Kotla, and later wrote for al-Ahram, and Dar al-Hilal, with Amina al-Saeed. Amani joined a group known as “The League of Writers for Pan-Arabism,” and recited poetry during the meetings and seminars organized by the group in Cairo and other governorates. Amani was also a member of Bint al-Nile Association, which was founded by Dr. Doria Shafiq, the leader of the women’s movement in Egypt following the death of Huda Shaarawi. Amani recalled being the youngest participant in the hunger strike that was held at the Journalists Syndicate, and lasted for over a week. She followed the lead of Doria Shafiq, Mounira Thabit, Fathia al-Falaki, as well as Hayam Abd al-Aziz who could not continue the strike until the end with the rest of the group. These women held the strike to demand women’s political rights, and the right to vote and run for office. Amani recalled that although her health condition deteriorated, and although she was about to die during that strike, she was willing to lose her life fighting for women’s rights. Amani recounted that the strike came to an end with a celebration, as President Mohamed Naguib granted women the right to vote and run for office. As soon as they called off the strike, they went to visit the tomb of the writer Qassim Amin. Amani recalled that the first woman candidate to win a seat in the parliament was the pioneer, Rawya Attia.
In the 1950s, Amani founded her own magazine Bint al-Sharq, in order to have the liberty to publish news and articles without being bound by the policy of a particular magazine or newspaper. During that time, she worked as a teacher at the College for Girls in Zamalek. Amani described the 1950s as the age of great developments and changes in Egypt, the most notable of which was the transition from the monarchy to the republic.
Amani married Hassan Ramzi, under the condition that she would continue her journalistic work after marriage. Amani did not feel that being a woman put her under any pressures, or placed any obstacles in her way. On the contrary, her husband did not oppose any of her choices, and her father granted her complete freedom. She was pampered and spoiled by her uncle and his wife for being a girl, and because they did not have any daughters. They took care of her as their own, and her uncle even taught her to play the oud and to sing. Amani stated that she received constant support from all the people around her, especially at the beginning, due to her young age.