The Sixties resurrected

Press freedom champion, unionist, feminist, journalist, revolutionary, and of course Tagammu Party activist: at 76, Amina Shafiq remains a lively example of the Egyptian left

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'I must admit that I was lucky, because I was recognised at a very early age and I had the good fortune of learning from giant, pioneering figures in the fields of both journalism and socialism. I worked hard but I never stopped learning'

She was the first and only woman secretary-general of the Egyptian Press Syndicate (1989-1993), as well as a member of the syndicate council for 28 years (1971-1999). A founding member of the left-wing Tagammu Party, which formed in 1976, she has played a crucial role in promoting freedom of expression. A symbol of Sixties leftism, she nonetheless bows to younger generations who realised the dream of revolution in the Arab world: "I never predicted I would witness a revolution in Egypt. I belong to an old generation who could not imagine technology changing the world in this way. Younger people decided to work independently from the old, and the old never tried to conduct dialogue with them. They have a broader perspective and an active vision and I for one, after they taught me to criticise themselves, am happy to follow them."

According to Shafiq, the political parties misjudged the state and they need to reconstruct their agendas. Still, she said, the new generation did not start from scratch; they were guided by the cumulative experience of the past. "Older intellectuals offered a lot, but they could only work in the framework of what was possible under dictatorship. The new generation had the benefit of much more effective mobilisation." During "the revolutionary moments of 25 January-11 February", Egyptians showed their best and their deeper values -- tolerance and equality -- came to the surface, but the conspiracies and efforts to spread chaos on the part of agents of the former regime and the counter-revolution remained strong. French women, she added by way of example, ended losing some of the rights they gained in the course of the French Revolution due to just such efforts. "What is happening now in Egypt is like someone cleaning his home, but this home has been occupied by a thief for so long much of it is damaged and too dirty for all but the most thorough cleaning, room by room and corner by corner. That takes a long time."

Among many positions of distinction, Shafiq headed the media committee of the National Council for Women (NCW); she received the State Award of the First Degree for Sciences and Arts and wrote many books describing her experiences. In 2000 and again in 2005 she ran for parliamentary elections for Boulaq Al-Dakrour (an electorally tough neighbourhood in southwestern Cairo). She failed both terms. In 2010 Shafiq withdrew from the elections when she realised her NWC colleague, Madiha Khattab, was nominated for the same district by the National Democratic Party. In the statement she released explaining her decision, Shafiq wrote, "I am keen on working together with other members of the NWC to unify the stand of women and promote their interests across the nation." She was the only woman (and the only oppositional figure) among 10 MPs appointed by former president Hosni Mubarak on the strength of his constitutional authority.

Shafiq was subsequently harshly criticised with some expressing the view that she withdrew from the electoral race in return for being appointed by the president in a shady political deal; her withdrawal, she points out in response, was "a political stance", not a favour to Khattab; she had no idea she would be appointed. Besides, in parliament she would be the mouthpiece of her party, to which she remains completely committed championing the cause of the poor. A tough figures, she is energetic and humorous, wonderful company. But what contributed to the formation of such a figures as Shafiq? "Good education," she responds without hesitation. Hailing from a middle-class family of downtown Cairo, she was brought up by her grandparents, though themselves illiterate, with illiterate children, they were believers in the education of women and when it came to their grandchildren, they insisted on the best possible education as "a weapon in the hand of a girl": "Their vision was part of the vision of society at that time. My grandmother married at the age of 11; she insisted that my mother and aunts should marry at the age of 18, but they thought their grandchildren should graduate from universities and work before thinking of marriage."

In 1953 Shafiq graduated from the famous Abbasiya Secondary School, where she took part in various extracurricular activities, read and failed to understand Qassem Amin's seminal defence of women's rights. She hated maths and science, enjoyed languages, philosophy, geography and especially history; and her passion for journalism manifested as early as the late 1940s, when she began to listen -- on her father's advice -- to Soheir El-Qalamawi's daily radio show, in which the pioneer radio journalist hosted the greatest names of the time, including Abbas El-Aqqad and Taha Hussein. "I looked up to her as a model for what a woman should be like." After completing her secondary education, Shafiq wanted to study journalism but as there were no journalism departments except for the American University in Cairo (AUC), she had to work to cover her tuition there. "I worked as a freelance journalist at Akhbar Al-Youm, starting my career at the age of 18." Her first feature story -- about the 22 nationalities then studying at AUC -- is still imprinted on her mind; soon she was out getting scoop after scoop while she also worked for the translation department of the newspaper.

"I must admit that I was lucky, because I was recognised at a very early age and I had the good fortune of learning from giant, pioneering figures in the fields of both journalism and socialism. I worked hard but I never stopped learning." In 1964, she studied for six months at the Higher Institute for Socialist Studies, where was taught political dogma by a number of pioneers. As a result, Shafiq fought for years to defend the rights of workers (she was therefore among the very few who supported workers' protests following the revolution). Among the figures she met in early life, she cites Beiram El-Tunsi, Moussa Sabri, Said Sonbol, Mohamed Hassanein Heikel, Mustafa and Ali Amin and Ali Hamdi El-Gamal. "They taught me much, though I do not agree politically with some of them. You cannot order workers to stop rioting; they fought for a long time for their rights and now they are convinced they should have them," she returns to the subject of the workers' riots. "However, solving their problems is not as complicated as might be thought; in most cases it is undeserved privileges of the top management that caused them. Once they are eliminated, workers will have their rights."

In 1960 Mohamed Hassanein Heikel, then editor-in- chief of Al-Ahram, asked Shafiq in person to join the venerable newspaper, which was nationalised a mere five days after her appointment. "So the profession became secure, because before 1960 it was easy to fire journalists." Her first assignment was a series of articles campaigning against high child mortality in Egypt. "In 1971, I was lucky to become a member of the Press Syndicate council, where I worked with Youssef Idris and Salah Galal and other prominent figures." She recounts going to Al-Ahram the day after her triumph at the elections: "I was so happy, I was all dressed up and proud of myself. Shortly afterwards, the secretary told me that Heikal wanted to meet me. I thought he wanted to congratulate me, which he did, then he added, 'I did not expect you to win, you are probably a successful unionist and leader, but keep in mind that in Al-Ahram you are only a reporter. Do not deal with your colleagues in Al-Ahram as a leader; Al-Ahram is your source of income.' I was so angry with him; I could not understand why he was so harsh. Much later I understood the significance of his advice."

Shafiq describes her 28 years at the syndicate as the best in life: "It is a pleasure to give all you can in the interest of others. It is enjoyable to feel that you're helping." It was in 1999 that she decided she could no longer endure the hectic routines involved. A year later, as she puts it, she lucked out yet again to be appointed in the NCW -- the only oppositional figure. She had worked on women's issues since 1975, but she did not make the leap from the theoretical to the practical until she "discovered that the state itself is adopting and sponsoring the issues I had fought for for decades". Shafiq's conception of women's rights is based on the concept of citizenship. The issue is not equality with men as such but that "women should be treated as citizens" and male children should be taught early on that women are equal to men. "The old typical idea of the mother cleaning while the father reads the newspaper should be abolished completely."

Shafiq's journalistic adventures are endless; many involved wars, like the 1956 Tripartite Aggression against Egypt, when she was at the heart of the resistance in Port Said. She was only 21, and she was allowed to go (by then editor of Akhbar Al-Youm ) Moussa Sabri only thanks to the intervention of an older and well-known journalist, Ahmed Bahgat, who agreed to go with her; she left without telling her family. A week later, when Bahgat left, she stayed on -- she was caught up in battle, after the curfew was imposed, and returned to furious but proud grandparents. In 1967 she accompanied the Egyptian forces sent to Yemen to participate in the civil war; in 1987 she reported from southern Lebanon, then under fire from the South Lebanon Army and Israel, and she won a syndicate prize for her coverage. Shafiq also remembers suffering under Anwar El-Sadat as a Marxist, when rumours were spread about socialists receiving money from the Soviet Union and Saddam Hussein. She was fired from Al-Ahram and appointed a social worker; her new colleagues regarded her as something for curiosity. She had her job back when Sadat died, but even then -- she feels -- her socialist past deprived her of posts and privileges. "I don't care. I'm convinced of my politics. I have no regrets."

For Shafiq the main priority regarding the future of Egypt is education -- catching up with the technological revolution, with new ways of thinking besides new skills to enable the unemployed to fill vacancies and help turn Egyptians into producers as well as consumers of civilisation. Next on the list of priorities is agriculture, which she feels should be promptly modernised. Shafiq laments the fact that Egypt imports nearly 70 per cent of its basic nutritional needs. "Agricultural development should start from the rural areas, where the peasants are still using primitive tools. Egypt is not yet a modern state. The whole society needs development." In this and other ways Shafiq is concerned that we are living in a bygone age. "I panic watching the news while it is happening. I am not used to that, and I do not know what the future of print journalism will be. However after all I am a writer who writes on paper with a pen, all I can do is make my writing better." According to Shafiq, the culture and ideology of Egyptians have changed after 25 January; they have become free, and they can no longer live under patriarchal dogma or the authority of a single figurehead.

Interview by Sahar El-Bahr