Nawal El Saadawi – Violence in the name of honour

Writer Nawal El Saadawi, Arabian women’s rights activist and global human rights activist. Don’t miss the lecture at the University of Gävle on the 22nd of April.

Fighting for women’s rights

Nawal El Saadawi (born in 1931) is one of the most respected Arab writers. She is a qualified physician, has been responsible for public health issues in Egypt and lives in Cairo.

El Sadaawi has fought for women’s rights both internationally and in her home country, something that has, at times, forced her into exile.

She has written about forty books and her literature has spread over most of the world. She has received many awards, amongst others the Stig Dagerman Prize in 2012. She has even been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The power of the word

She uses the power of the word as a means for change. Her books give strong portraits of women that live in difficult circumstances. The women are described with dignity. They are courageous, hopeful and prepared to suffer and fight for everything that they believe in.

She prefers to write fiction, because she thinks that by doing so it can produce an effect in both our reason and our emotions enabling us to see the underlying truth.

Lecture – "Violence in the name of honour"

Date: Friday the 22nd of April
Time: 11.00-12.30
Place: Valhall, University of Gävle

Everybody is welcome to this public lecture that is to be one of the 'Dagerman seminars'.

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Honorary Doctor at the University

Since 2014 Nawal El Saadawi has been an honorary doctor at the University of Gävle. In the justification it was emphasised that Nawal El Saadawis great achievements and fight for women’s rights is strongly connected to the vision held by the University of Gävle.

The Dagerman Prize

On the 15th of May 2012 Nawal El Saadawi inaugurated the Dagerman Seminar at the University of Gävle and on the 19th of May she accepted the Stig Dagerman Prize in Älvkarleby with the following justification:

Nawal El Saadawi is awarded the Stig Dagerman Prize for 2012 because in her works she makes visible the meaning of freedom, its responsibility and goals and thereby gives us all an insight into the true importance and value of freedom.

For further information, please contact:
Maivor Hallén, Head Librarian at the University of Gävle
Tel: 026- 64 81 88, 070-605 66 26
Email: maivor.hallen@hig.se

Text: Douglas Öhrbom
Photo: Bengt Söderhäll