Obituary

One group, many voices

By Mariz Tadros

Hilana Sidarous

There is much that can be said about Sidarous, but very little that has been written about. "She was of small stature and a very self-effacing woman. She was not one who sought out the limelight," said Marie Asaad, one of her associates.

And yet there is nothing modest about Sidarous' achievements. Born in 1904 in Tanta, Sidarous' parents recognised early on that she was exceptionally bright and sent her to one of Egypt's most prestigious boarding schools for girls. However, Sidarous' passion went far beyond education. She was a nationalist with a fervent and rebellious spirit. She participated in the 1919 anti-British revolution and was often seen at demonstrations and protests. "The headmistress of our school was British," she once said. "When the 1919 Revolution broke out, my friends and I went on strike inside the school. We chanted slogans to her face... 'Down with colonialism! Down with the British!' I, together with the other students, were ordered to stand a whole day in the courtyard as punishment."

Sidarous was a firm admirer of Nabaweya Moussa, a leading advocate of the right of women to have an education, and wrote her several letters praising her stand. As far as Sidarous was concerned, feminism was intrinsically connected to nationalism. She had hoped that the downfall of colonialism would lead to the emancipation of Egyptian society from the shackles of patriarchy.

In the meantime, Sidarous was engaged in her own personal struggle. While encouraged by her father to fulfil her ambitions and become a doctor, some thought she was too fragile to pursue a medical career, a traditionally male-dominated profession. They suggested she study to become a kindergarten teacher instead.

Sidarous was among the first Egyptian women to win a scholarship to study abroad and in 1922 she left to enroll in London. "I joined the medical school at a time when Egyptian women wore cloaks and yashmaks," she said. After eight years of arduous study in obstetrics and gynecology, she returned to Egypt, and was taken under the wing of Dr Naguib Pasha Mahfouz, the famed gynecologist, who became her supervisor. In 1935, she began practicing medicine at her own clinic in downtown Cairo, gaining a reputation as Egypt's first woman obstetrician.

"Hilana was not an ordinary obstetrician; she was warm and caring and did not view her profession as merely a job. She understood the needs of women and always treated them as her friends," recalled Raouth Khalil, who gave birth to all her children under Sidarous' supervision.

In addition to her clinic, Sidarous worked tirelessly at the Coptic Hospital, whose staff to this day recall that if a woman called Sidarous in the dead of the night, she would immediately jump into her car to be at her side, even though women drivers were not well seen at the time.

After more than 40 years of practice, Sidarous decided it was time to move on to another passion. She joined the Coptic Association for Social Services, working with equal dedication. She never married, but those close to her say she remained very close to her family and had raised a niece whose parents had died.

"It is a pity that there is so little written about her," said gynecologist Ezzeddin Osman, suggesting that as a woman doctor in a male-dominated profession, Sidarous was never given due credit. "She was a pioneer in obstetrics and gynecology, a model to all of us. What was very special about Hilana was the way in which she had the full trust of her patients. They were confident that she would never fail to deliver."