Geneviève Sydarous is a political activist, and an Egyptian woman pioneer of journalism and translation. She earned her BA from the Department of English, at the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University, and her MA in journalism in 1953. She wrote for a number of newspapers and magazines, including al-Seyasa and al-Balagh, and was in charge of the woman’s section. Geneviève recorded interviews with a number of pioneer women of the feminist movement, such as Siza Nabarawi, Doria Shafiq, and Amina al-Saeed.

Geneviève was born on al-Atabi Alley, in al-Faggala district, in Cairo. She expressed her pride in growing up on this Alley, recalling that when given the choice to live on the main street or to stay on the alley, Geneviève and her siblings chose the alley. As she put it, “the main street had the tram and the shops, and it was noisy. The alley was quiet, there was no noise. Our house had three big rooms, and a lot of space. We had three verandas overlooking a garden, and the garden was well-trimmed with flower beds. The trees tilted on the balconies. The middle room overlooked a mango tree, and all the neighborhood children used to come down to us, climb the fence, and reach for the mangoes even before they were ripe. Next to it was a guava tree.”

Geneviève talked about her strong attachment to the countryside and the family house there, to which her mother used to take her a lot during her childhood. Her mother did not receive any education, but, as Geneviève put it, “she was sharp with unparalleled intelligence. When we first had electricity, she used to listen to the radio all the time, and diligently keep up with the shows aired, and before that, she used to go to our neighbors’ house to listen to the newscast. Her house was like the House of the Nation, because she used to host family meetings to engage in heated discussions.” Geneviève’s father worked for the Ministry of Interior Affairs, at the Identification Department. He attended foreign schools, and worked as a translator in the English military courts.

Geneviève’s mother made sure that her daughter received the proper education to achieve what she herself could not accomplish, and enrolled Geneviève into the American School in al-Faggala, where she studied under American teachers. Later, Geneviève attended the American School in al-Azbakeya, where students were not allowed to use the Arabic language for communication at all. Geneviève recalled the strict American Principal, Ms. French, and the excellent Arabic teacher she had. Her love for reading made a huge difference in her mastery of the Arabic language, as she explained, “what benefited me was the personal readings I pursued on my own. By the walls of the American School in al-Faggala, there was a man who rented pocket novels. I owe most of my personal development to these novels. The experience was formative of my character. I used to receive a sufficient allowance to rent these novels, and buy Nestlé chocolate, because there were prizes and stuff like that in it. I spent all my time at the man renting the pocket novels, and I learned the names of all the famous writers.”

Afterwards, Geneviève attended the English Literature Division, at Princess Fawqia Secondary School, and among her colleagues was Dr. Fatma Mousa. She recounted, “in the secondary school, I entered a competition. It covered all the subjects, including English. Four girls succeeded in the English competition: Fatma Mousa was the first, and I was the second. The third was our colleague at the same division, but the fourth was from Helwan School. We were granted free university education as a reward. We received 20 Egyptian pounds and some books.” During high school, Geneviève was also closely connected and engaged in the activities of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). Most of the YWCA members were graduates of the American School, among which Geneviève recalled her colleague, Phoebe Khalil, and their participation in the trips, camps, and the church choir.

Upon her school graduation, Geneviève attended the Department of English Language, at the Faculty of Arts, where she took interest in journalism. Her cousin introduced her to the editor-in-chief of the Public Opinion Magazine, for which she began writing. Her first article covered the social traditions, and was very well received. Geneviève also joined a group called “Shakespeare Group,” which engaged in a number of cultural activities at the university. She also got to know many of her colleagues, such as Fouad Mohie al-Deen, Hassan Awad, Mostafa Soueif, Youssef al-Sharoni, Mounir Abd al-Mageed, and Ismail al-Sowaify. Geneviève was the only girl in the group before she invited Fatma Mousa to join.

It was also through this group that she got involved with the Egyptian left, and embraced its ideas. At the university, Geneviève took part in the activities organized by the University Girls League, through which she grew closer to the visual artist Inji Aflatoun. Geneviève became involved in politics, and joined a number of protest demonstrations. With her loud voice, she had a talent for mobilizing the masses.  She was arrested several times, and got temporarily suspended from university, in addition to being sent to a disciplinary board for her political activism.

Geneviève spoke at length about her friend Saadia Othman, whom she considered a legend, as she fought for education and the right to political participation. Her efforts resulted in her sisters obtaining all their rights, and she got appointed at the university, before getting terminated later after that. About Saadia, Geneviève recounted, “I consider Saadia Osman a legend because from the outside, she was a beautiful woman, with gorgeous eyes. Her daughters and son have her eyes. Her face was pleasant to look at. She had such a lovely Egyptian face, radiant with intelligence, kindness, and openness. She was a combination of a sound logical mind, and a deeply humane heart. She took a stand, empathized with people, and solved their problems. She was in the heart of other people’s troubles, unlike me, I played a very rigid role.” Geneviève also spoke about her relationship with the poet Salah Jaheen, and how her passion for culture led her to join a musical group called the “Gramophone Society.”

In addition, Geneviève joined the Journalism Institute, and worked for the newspapers al-Seyasa and al-Balagh. She interviewed some of the pioneer women, such as Amina al-Saeed and Doria Shafiq. She also worked for some magazines, including al-Gamaheer, and was in charge of the woman’s section. She spoke about her experience in the tripartite aggression of 1956, and how she was repeatedly detained during that period. Geneviève held a post in the educational administration, along with some of her colleagues who were banned from teaching. For three years, she stopped working in protest of the decision to transfer her to Aswan. During those years, she recorded interviews with the feminist movement pioneers, including Siza Nabarawi, covering the history of the feminist movement, and the pioneer Hoda Shaarawi. Geneviève joined a competition to write a book in English on the Palestinian Question. She recalled that the prize was 500 pounds, and she needed the money to get herself out of a financial crisis. She also translated several literary works, including Pygmalion and the play Tobacco.

On her life and career achievements, Geneviève Sydarous said, “one of my most significant accomplishments was that I talked about the ordinary people, the social relations, as well as the intellectual and social conditions in which we lived. I was keen on praising heroism and the stances that some people took, without receiving enough recognition. Some of these people were prominent figures, others were ordinary people. I made a difference, and left a mark I think.”