Oral History Archive Laila Barakat

Laila Barakat is an Egyptian woman pioneer of social work. In the interview, she traced her path into charity and social activities, following into the footsteps of her mother, who was a member of the New Woman Organization. Laila established hospitals and eldercare facilities. Both Laila and her mother were awarded Egypt’s Order of the Virtues.

Laila grew up in her maternal grandmother’s house in Giza, on a street that was later named after Laila’s father Dr. Mohamed Bahi al-Deen, who studied law, before traveling to earn his master’s and doctorate degrees in England. He served as the Accounting Cabinet Chief, a member of the Parliament, and one of the regents entrusted with the Egyptian throne after the ouster of the King, in addition to serving as the Minister of Education for several terms. Laila’s mother, Hedeya Afifi, engaged in social work after attending the French school of La Mère De Dieu. She got married at the age of 18, and used to bring Laila along to the meetings of the New Woman Organization. Laila was very close to her mother, and considered her a friend and a sister, saying, “she was never just a mother to me. She was my friend.”

Laila also spoke about her governess Elzam Brillhart, who studied at a specialized school for childcare in Switzerland. Laila recounted that Ms. Brillhart stayed with her since she was born, and until she got married. After Laila’s marriage, Ms. Brillhart returned to Switzerland, got married, and had children, which was surprising to Laila who explained, “she got married after we were all grown up, and this was very strange. She married a Swiss like her, and even got pregnant. But her delivery was very difficult because as we all know the best age to get pregnant is between 20 and 30. She was way above the age of 40.” On her deathbed, Ms. Brillhart asked to see Laila and her siblings, so they traveled to Switzerland to see her, and came back to Egypt a month after her death. Laila stated, “she was like a mother to us. This is how much we loved her.”

Laila attended kindergarten for three years, then primary school for four years, before joining the American College for Girls for five years. She recalled that all her teachers were Egyptians, except for the Deputy Principal who was an English national. Among her colleagues were Kawthar Abaza, Nana Abd al-Khaleq, and Abla Kamel, who remained close friends with Laila after graduation. Although she earned her British GCE in 1952, Laila did not pursue university studies, and got married at the age of 17 to Hassan Zakie al-Ibrashi who was one of Egypt’s most famous attorneys at the time. Laila decided not to hire a governess to help her with raising the children, explaining, “I wanted to raise my children on my own. I knew how much I loved my nanny, and I did not want that for my children. I did not want to share my children’s love with anyone.”

After her marriage, Laila became involved in the social activities with her mother. She recalled her mother’s work with the New Woman Organization that was established in 1919, and was presided over by Princess Ain al-Hayat Refeat. It was common for princesses to donate money to build hospitals affiliated with the organizations, and as such become honorary presidents. The New Woman Organization offered handicrafts and literacy classes for girls. Laila recounted that the organization’s most important activity was teaching girls how to read and write, stating, “we are still suffering from this issue now, what they now call illiteracy. The organization taught girls how to read and write, and also trained them in a profession to support themselves financially, and to generate their own income.”

Laila’s mother joined the organization at the age of 18, along with Lady Amina Sedqi and Huda Shaarawi, who later separated from the New Woman Organization, and established her own organization in 1932. Laila’s mother was also a member of Mohamed Ali Mabarra Charity Organization which raised donation to build hospitals, and provide medical care for the underprivileged. Laila described the activities of Mohamed Ali Mabarra saying, “it opened hospitals, appointed doctors, and recruited employees. As soon as a hospital gets staffed, it commences its operations. The Mabarra’s Hospital in Old Egypt is still operative until now. The members of both the Mabarra and the New Woman worked together like one, and so the New Woman established a nursing school and a childcare school. The childcare school attracted so many women to either prepare for marriage, or to recruit governesses for their children.” Among the members of the Mabarra, Laila recalled Toutou Mousa and Ms. Maggy Kahil.

Laila spoke about the huge number of Egyptian women who were involved in charity and social work during that time, saying, “so many women worked in charity. Until I got married and even after that, until the time of Abd al-Nasser, women did not seek employment as long as they were financially privileged. They did not go to university, or earn PhDs. Of course, some did, but only a very small number. The majority of the women who came from big or privileged families got married early, and they only got educated to become socialites, and learn languages. At that time, culture was everything. Women were cultured. Now, women graduate university and get PhDs but have no culture. It is one thing to be educated and another to be cultured.”

Laila inherited her dedication to civil work from her mother, and participated in the activities hosted by the New Woman Organization. In the interview, she stated, “last week, I attended an exhibition at the headquarters of the Organization, the one we had since 1919. The same old building is still there although it was only constructed with bricks, because at that time there was no steel foundation. It looks really good, and I could add two more floors to the building if I wanted. But we constructed a new building on the premise. Hopefully soon, we will have a vocational school for girls in the garden of the old building. I would love for people to visit the headquarters. We still teach girls. We do not have literacy classes now, but we will start them in the new building. The best bedsheets, tablecloths, and the best handmade embroidered work are made here in the New Woman Organization. I would be very happy if someone would come and visit the Organization.”

Laila also participated in the work of Mohamed Ali Mabarra which built 36 hospitals and clinics around Egypt. She recounted, “After 1952, President Gamal Abd al-Nasser kept the name of ‘Mohamed Ali Mabarra’ on all hospitals, except for the one that was built in 1948, right before the Revolution. He removed Mohamed Ali’s name, and renamed that hospital the Republic. It was the first thing Abd al-Nasser opened, the Republic Hospital, which my mother and the respectable Egyptian women helped construct.”

Laila Barakat was interested in a range of social work, such as orphanages, eldercare homes, and the annual productive families’ exhibition. When she became the Chairwoman of the New Woman Organization, Laila developed and expanded the services of Egypt’s first eldercare home -a facility that Laila’s mother founded- then established a new one.