Obituary:

Olfat Aziz Kamel (1922-2002)

Olfat Aziz Kamel

Beloved by the people, she will be sorely missed by her constituents in the old Cairo quarter of Gamaliya, which she represented for over 40 years. Women's groups, NGOs and friends from a broad spectrum of Cairene society will also feel a void as a result of her passing. One of only three women to be elected (as opposed to appointed) to Parliament three successive times, she represented the poor from Cairo's low- income districts, though she comes from an aristocratic family. In fact, her Mère de Dieu French educational background was often evident, much to the amusement of her fellow members of Parliament.

Her valiant battles for housing for the poor, and advocacy of those evicted from buildings that were collapsing or being demolished by speculators, earned her the sobriquet "Olfat Housing", and eventually resulted in her nomination -- in 1971 -- to head parliament's housing committee.

A non-career housewife with four children, her efforts to establish social services for poor working women in Gamaliya included the first and only voluntary association specifically targeting women. It trained, employed, educated and assisted working women, which resulted in a number of successful programmes, including day- care centres for babies and infants, literacy and sewing classes, family planning clinics, family reconciliation programmes, as well as typing schools for young women aspiring to professional careers.

It also resulted in an overwhelming call -- from the people themselves -- that she enter the political process on their behalf. She took Gamaliya's concerns to the National Convention in 1959, the Arab Socialist Union in 1964, and Parliament, Maglis Al-Umma and Maglis Al-Shaab, when it was reestablished. She was the sole elected representative for the women's seat for the Cairo district in Maglis Al-Umma in 1964 and later joined opposition parties when they were created -- first the Independent Liberal Party, which she represented in Parliament as -- again -- its only elected member. Thus she was dubbed the "Egyptian Mrs Thatcher". She later switched to the Wafd Party, which boycotted the elections, and ended up losing her links to Parliament.

Even though she belonged to the opposition, officials were always willing to listen to her requests on behalf of the people, mainly because she always proposed constructive solutions to solving problems. She would identify parcels of land where a school could be built, supervise the construction, obtain permits for cement in an era of rationing, and find ways to eke funds out of the education budget.

Her support was invaluable. Representing my NGO in Darb Al-Ahmar, I used to accompany her as she fought for housing and services in newly created areas to which families were relocated, and as she tried to formulate policies to protect the goods and workspaces of street vendors from police campaigns. I also watched her try to convince various ministries that the social fabric of the historic city must be protected during processes of restoration, gentrification and upgrading, as recommended by UNESCO.

As her health failed, her political activism declined, and the forces she fought against began affecting her own social service projects. The restoration of the Mustafa Gaafar house next to Beit Al-Seheimi resulted in the eviction of the Association for the Renaissance of Women. It was replaced by a computer centre to which the National Party sends community members for training. The training and day care-centre in "Haret Al-Yahood" is now threatened with eviction by the speculator who bought the building from the rabbinate.

Working quietly, away from the limelight, with and on behalf of the historic city's poor, her true recognition resides in the affection and memories of the people she served and the many friends and colleagues who had the privilege of knowing her.

Nawal Mahmoud Hassan