Oral History Archive Zaynab Al-Manfaluti

Zaynab Lutfi al-Manfaluti is the Head of the Legal Department at the Authority for Construction and Housing Cooperatives. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Arts, at Cairo University, before studying law at Ain Shams University. She worked as a writer for a period of time, then worked at the Deeds Record Office. In the interview, Zaynab, the daughter of the great writer Lutfi al-Manfaluti, shared her the milestones of her educational journey and career path.

Zaynab was the only girl in her family to receive formal education, and to complete her university studies, thanks to her mother’s support and encouragement. Zaynab attended al-Helmeya Primary School, then Princess Fawqia Secondary School. Among her schoolmates was the media personnel, Tomader Tawfik. Zaynab recounted that the poet Ali al-Garem used to visit her school, as part of his duties as an inspector at the Ministry of Education.

Upon finishing high school, Zaynab wanted to attend the Faculty of Law, but her uncles refused. Instead, she enrolled in the Faculty of Arts, at Cairo University in 1939, in fulfillment of her father’s wishes. She studied philosophy and psychology although she never liked any of them. Zaynab recounted that there were only four girls in her class, and 20 male students. Among her professors, she recalled Dr. Abd al-Rahman Badawi, and spoke of his genius, his devotion to his work, and his deep love for his homeland, Egypt. While studying, Zaynab began writing articles for a magazine. One of her articles covered Safiya Zaghloul.

Upon her graduation, and with the help of the pioneer lawyer, Naeema al-Ayoubi, Zaynab got a job at the Deeds Record Office, in the Ministry of Social Affairs, where she met the great writer Tawfik al-Hakim, who also worked at the ministry at that time.

When Ain Shams University was established, Zaynab decided to pursue a degree in law to fulfill her dream, and also as a means to gain knowledge, and to do better at work. She recalled the encouragement she received from the Secretary General of the Deeds Record Office, who did not object to her attending her lectures during the working hours. The faculty started scheduling evening lectures, since a large number of the enrolled students were full-time employees. There, Zaynab studied alongside Salah Mansour, as well as Abd al-Ahad Gamal al-Din, who served as the Secretary General of Television, then as Egypt’s Ambassador to France, before later becoming the Minister of Youth. Zaynab recounted that there were a large number of students at the Faculty of Law, compared to the Philosophy Department where she studied earlier, which made her nervous of attending the lectures at the beginning. She spoke a lot about her memories at the Faculty of Law, and how happy she was to finally be able to fulfill her dreams.

While studying at the Faculty of Law, Zaynab married the lawyer Ibrahim Mazhar, and she highlighted how much he helped her to study and to get her degree. Zaynab worked at the legal department of the Authority for Construction and Housing Cooperatives, but later took a leave without pay to travel to Geneva with her husband, who was serving as the Regional Adviser to the International Labor Office, at the International Labor Organization. She traveled with him to Istanbul, then to Beirut where she stayed for a year.

Upon returning to Egypt, Zaynab resumed her work at the Authority for Construction and Housing Cooperatives, until she became the Head of the Legal Department. She recalled the good and loving relations she had with the department employees, and that she was like a mother to them all. Zaynab maintained these relationships after she retired.