Bahiga Mohsen
Social work pioneer
Bahiga Mohsen is an Egyptian woman pioneer of social work. She was a member of Cairo’s Ladies Club, and the Association for Women and Child Protection, in addition to her membership of Huda Shaarawi’s Association. She worked with the Red Crescent during the 1967 War, and together with her husband, Bahiga founded the Tourist Friends Society. In this interview, Bahiga shared her journey with education and social activism.
Bahiga was born in Alexandria to a father who worked as an advisor to the council of Prince Omar Toson. She recalled the friendship that developed between her mother and the Prince’s wife as a result. Bahiga first attended an Egyptian public school, where she obtained her primary education, before enrolling in the French Lycée School, where she earned her high-school diploma at the age of 15. Bahiga got married a year after, when she was 16 years old, but her husband passed away shortly after they had their son. She described her late husband as a decent, well-mannered, sociable man. She stayed unmarried for two years to care for her son, then got married to the Military Captain, Ahmed Mohsen Abd al-Qader, with whom she had a daughter and a son. Bahiga explained that her second husband treated her son from her first marriage just like his son.
Bahiga traveled with her husband to Gaza where he served as the Deputy to Gaza’s Governor. There, she met some of the women involved in social work, including Ms. Alexandra Farag, as well as Ms. Aziza Hussein, to whom Bahiga owed her knowledge of social activism. Aziza Hussein introduced Bahiga to the principles of social work, and helped her become a member of Cairo’s Ladies Club in 1962. The Club’s range of activities included social and charity work, besides ‘the cultural day’ organized weekly, every Monday. Bahiga also joined the Association for Women and Child Protection, and got elected to serve on its board of directors in 1966. The Association encompassed a safe house, supervised by Ms. Buthaina Badran, and a guest house supervised by Aqilah Yousri, in addition to the happy house, and the house for women and child protection, which was supervised by Awatif Bakir.
Through her social work, Bahiga provided support for the village of Sendion. Ahmed Hussein Pasha -the Minister of Social Affairs, and Aziza Hussein’s husband- was the first to take interest in improving the village’s conditions in 1948. He used to visit the social centers at a number of villages as part of his work, when he came across Sendion, and witnessed the poor and unhealthy practices in the village, especially towards the children. Bahiga was responsible for providing educational, recreational, and health services for the village children. She also managed to expand the social support initiatives there to include establishing a carpet factory, and launching an initiative to teach tailoring and sewing. The village of Sendion was the first village in the Egyptian rural countryside to have a library, which was established with the support of Suzanne Mubarak, the first lady at the time. Bahiga also worked to organize a charity bazar for the village’s products, and invited orphaned children to join the Association’s kindergarten without costs, in addition to providing them with clothes and food. She submitted a request to the Ministry of Social Affairs to open a class for infants at the kindergarten, in order to accommodate the needs of the working mothers at the village. Moreover, with financial aid from a businessman, Bahiga established two classes to teach clothes design and tailoring, and provided the tools and materials for the students. She also inaugurated a computer center as per the recommendations of the Director of Development at the governorate.
Bahiga recalled her social initiatives in Cairo, which included the establishment of a charity clinic in Bein al-Sarayat neighborhood, under the management of Dr. Fatima Hassan, in addition to launching literacy initiatives, leading a number of hospital departments, and delivering weekly cultural lectures. As for the social activism during the 1967 War, Bahiga recounted that Gihan al-Sadat, the then-first lady, visited the Association for Women and Child Protection, and requested its cooperation with the Red Crescent. As a result, many women members of the Association visited the rural villages, one of which was called Othman Ibn Affan, where the members worked on providing social aid, housing, food, and support for the village women displaced due to the war. Bahiga recalled that although it was an arduous mission, her husband’s cooperation and support made it less difficult for her.
In 1968, Bahiga attended a training course in social work at the Social Center for Social Research. Among her colleagues at the training were Alexandra Farag, Buthaina Bakr, Sayeda al-Radi, and Saniya al-Werdani. Bahiga was nominated by the Association’s chairwoman to represent the Association for Women and Child Protection at the international conference in Paris on combating prostitution. She recalled that one of her recommendations for the conference was to change its name to “the Protection of Women and Children.” The next edition of the conference was proposed to be held in Egypt, but Bahiga objected to host an Israeli delegation in Egypt, so India was chosen to organize the conference. She recalled traveling to Geneva and London to learn about the support initiatives offered to women and children.
In 1970, Bahiga cofounded the Tourist Friends Society, with the aim of preventing the exploitation of tourists in Egypt. The Society was presided by Major General Muhammad al-Fouli, and Bahiga chaired the Public Relations and Reception Committee, while her husband served as the Society’s General Secretariat. Bahiga appointed and trained several girls who were fluent speakers of foreign languages, and assigned them a uniform. She then obtained a permit from the airport for these girls to be in charge of the reception and assistance of the tourists arriving to Egypt, offering tourists a nice welcome and help with their travel and arrival procedures.
In 1970, Bahiga joined Huda Shaarawi’s Association, and was elected as a board member of the Cairo’s Ladies Club, then reelected for the second time in 1978. In 1973, and with the eruption of the October War, Bahiga resumed her work with the Red Crescent, and was responsible for al-Qubba General Military Hospital. Along with Ms. Huda al-Hosni and 12 other women, Bahiga worked at the hospital to provide humanitarian and social aid, in addition to receiving and providing care for the wounded soldiers. Bahiga shared with other women the Silver Platter, awarded to them by the armed forces. In 1974, Bahiga became an elected member of the board directors of Huda Shaarawi’s Association, and assumed responsibility for the membership committee, but resigned from the post in 1980, and continued her engagement and social work with the Association as a member after that. She also left her post at the Tourist Friends Society, due to her desire to reduce her work responsibilities, and devote more time to keeping up with her children’s education. Bahiga Mohsen highlighted that throughout her social work career, she managed to ensure a balance between her work and family responsibilities.