Upper-class Egyptian women in veils, between one …

Years: 1919 - 1919
March
Upper-class Egyptian women in veils, between one hundred and fifty and three hundred of them, stage a demonstration against the British occupation on March 16, an event that marks the entrance of Egyptian women into public life.

The women are led by Safiya Zaghlul, wife of Wafd leader Saad Zaghlul; Huda Sharawi, wife of one of the original members of the Wafd and organizer of the Egyptian Feminist Union; and Muna Fahmi Wissa.

Women of the lower classes demonstrate in the streets alongside the men.

In the countryside, women engage in activities like cutting rail lines.

The upper-class women participating in politics for the first time had assumed key roles in the movement when the male leaders were exiled or detained.

They organize strikes, demonstrations, and boycotts of British goods and write petitions, which they circulate to foreign embassies protesting British actions in Egypt.

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