Nawal El Saadawi: 'Religion is all politics'

Egypt's leading radical feminist talks about religion, fundamentalism and female circumcision

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• the guardian
• nawal el saadawi
• religion
• politics
• egypt
• feminism

[RoseFink]

Highest rating for this video interview with this tremendous human being. Such a beautiful and sane woman. Thank you for bringing her to our attention.

[strike4may]

you rock nawal el saadawi keep going

[maachilosa]

@hbnm03 I didn't wrote about male circumcision, I don’t understand where you get this from. but it is a fact that religion is abused to justify these practices even if religion doesn't have anything to do with this. but anyway thanks for the information :-) 

[hbnm03]

I am an Egyptian man and I am for 100% equal rights for women. Women should uncover their heads and live like men. Why do they have to be below us in any way? A woman can be the money maker in the family while the father stays with the kids. A woman should even be able to be president. Why do I have to wait another 50 years to see my sister live an equal life to mine? Thank goodness we live in a bubble.... I don't know how it would be otherwise. Ta7ya Masr w shokran le agda3 mar2a fe masr.

[hbnm03]

@LoonyInSpace THANK YOU! It's not religion at all... It is an east african tradition that was passed to almost none of the middle east.

[hbnm03]

@maachilosa Um in the video they are not talking about male circumcision, she is talking about female circumcision which is not part of Jewish or Islamic tradition or beliefs. It is a purely an east african tradition and that is why it does not happen in the vast majority of the Middle East - it was spread to countries like Oman and Yemen because of their Afro-Arabian infusion.

[aardvarkspleen]

Nawal is great! :) 

[maachilosa]

@LoonyInSpace its true what you say, but what she means is that people who practise circumcision abuse religion to justify things like circumcision. circumcision mostly happens in Islamic, jewish and a little apparently in christian (depending from the country) culture. I think if we want to make a change in this we have to make religion a part of it. make people realize god/allah made us just the way he wanted. let people think and see the truth, what is right and wrong and mutilation is wrong.

[LoonyInSpace]

Sorry but what Saadawi is talking about is culture not religion. Female genital mutilation is not a religious creation (at least not in Islam), if it happens in certain countries it's the result of a combination of ignorance and culture. Political ideologies can be applied to any facet of life (not just religion). Furthermore a thing need not be inatley political for it to take on political qualities.

[leptismagna10]

Nawal El Saadawi and Wafa Sultan, two outstanding women who made a stand against the misogynistic bullying of the religion created by 7th century men.

[leptismagna10]

@shmpy100 الوحيد الى غربان من الغابه هو رسولك المجرم المعفن.

yes for womens rights in Egypt! No to religious fanatics!