April 7, 2003
USM Hosts Muslim Women's Rights Activists from Egypt
USM students, staff and the public have had a unique opportunity
this semester to take classes from Egyptian scholars Dr. Nawal
El Saadawi and her husband, Dr. Sherif Hetata. Both Saadawi
and Hetata have been teaching at USM this spring as Visiting
Libra Professors, in addition to conducting faculty workshops
and public lectures. They are hosted by USM's College of Arts
and Sciences Libra Committee.
At 6 p.m., Friday, April 11, they will lead a forum, "World
Social Forum and Peace." During this free public forum, held
in Rooms ABC of USM's Woodbury Campus Center on the Portland
campus, Saadawi and Hetata will talk about war and peace,
and then lead a discussion. They were both members of the
Commission of Inquiry for the International War Crimes Tribunal
that investigated war crimes against Iraq during the Persian
Gulf War. For more information on this forum, call 780-4330.
Saadawi and Hetata will also lecture on "Creativity, Politics
and Gender" at a free public lecture at 7 p.m., Thursday,
April 24, in USM's Luther Bonney Auditorium on the Portland
Campus. For more information on this lecture, call 780-4928.
Saadawi is a novelist, a psychiatrist and writer who has
written about the situation of women in Egyptian and Arab
society. Her novel, "Woman at Point Zero," was recently named
among this best novels to come out of Africa in the last century.
As a result of her activities, she was imprisoned by Egyptian
President Anwar Sadat, and was released only after his assassination.
She is currently teaching "Creative Fiction and Non-Fiction"
at USM.
Saadawi's husband, Sherif Youssef Hetata, is a novelist and
medical doctor. He has written on many subjects including
travel, politics, and health, but since 1968 he has devoted
himself to novels. In addition to his writing he has held
various administrative posts, including eight years with the
International Labour Organization in Asia and Africa, where
he focused on issues of population and migration. He spent
nine years in Egyptian governmental service working in the
Ministry of Health and the Supreme Council for Population
and Family Planning. Hetata is leading the seminar, "Breaking
Down Barriers," offered through USM's English Department.
"The College of Arts and Sciences is delighted to have Drs.
Saadawi and Hetata as our Libra scholars," says Kathleen Wininger,
USM professor and member of USM's College of Arts and Sciences'
Libra Committee. "They bring us wisdom about a part of the
world it is crucial for us to understand at this difficult
time. They have worked tirelessly and unrepentantly for the
rights of poor women and men throughout the world."
The Libra Professorships were established in 1989 to attract
well-known scholars to System campuses. The Professorships
are endowed by a gift of $5 million to the University of Maine
System by the late Elizabeth B. Noyce.
Editor's Note: For more information on Saadawi's
and Hetata's stay at USM, please contact Bob Caswell or Judie
O'Malley in USM's Office of Media and Community Relations
at 780-4200. We also can be reached at home, 839-2026 (Caswell)
or 839-6402 (O'Malley). Their Web site is http://www.nawalsaadawi.net/
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