Egyptian feminist (1895?1990)
Ester Akhnoukh Fanous
or
Esther Fanous
(
Arabic
:
???? ?????
), also known as
Ester Wissa
(February 19, 1895,
Assiut
,
Egypt
? August 1990) was an
Egyptian
feminist
. She was a founding member of the
New Woman Society
and helped found the
Women's Wafd Central Committee
in 1920. Her son Hanna Fahmy Wissa has written about her in his family memoir
Assiout
.
[1]
Life
[
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]
Esther Fahmy Wissa
was the daughter of doctor
Akhnoukh Fanous
and
Balsam Wissa
, from a prominent
Coptic Christian
family. The national and religious atmosphere dominating her parents' house had a great influence on her personality; she accordingly knew the freedom through the ideas and opinions raised within her family and through the valuable books existing in her father's library. When the famous lawyer,
Makram Ebeid
, a friend of their family visited her house, Ester Fanous learned that
Saad Zaghloul
Pasha intended with some friends to travel to
England
demanding to lift British mandate on Egypt. She then decided to revolt against British
colonialism
in early 1919.
Feeling grief when the demonstrations overwhelmed
Egypt
and the
British
shot the demonstrators, Ester wrote to President Wilson of the United States, saying: "Four persons were sent to fight in this battle" (she means
Saad Zaghloul
and his friends), "if it is urgent we will send 4 hundreds may be 4 thousands or 4 millions to liberate the 4 precedents. Triple of this number insists to establish justice in our homeland. Elders regain their strength, men are valiant and women are virile".
Ester traveled to
Cairo
to meet with
Safia Zaghloul
who proposed the signature of three women on the message dedicated to President Wilson. Hundred women were gathered to sign this message and submit their objections; then they went in a feminist demonstration raising their flags and chanting slogans.
Together with
Hoda Shaarawi
, Ester Fanous decided to establish a committee representing the women of
Egypt
acting jointly with the delegation. In St Mark Church, the women held a meeting where
Hoda Shaarawi
was nominated chair and
Fekria Hosny
,
Ehsan Al-Qoussy
and Ester Fanous were nominated as secretaries. They subsequently held a political meeting in a mosque where they delivered their speeches for the first time with men.
In March 1923, Ester Fanous established with other women the Egyptian Feminist Union to improve women's level in literature and social aspect and to promote them to be treated on equal footing with men in rights and obligations. She was involved in other associations such as the
Young Women's Christian Association
and the
Labour Association of Egypt
as well as other charitable associations.
Ester Fanous died in August 1990, leaving a significant influence of national unity and the endeavour to emancipate
Egyptian
Women.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Hanna Fahmy Wissa,
Assiout: the saga of an Egyptian family
, 2000.
External links
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]