Nawal el Saadawi as a Saidian ‘ Amateur ’

Edward Said's idea is that intellectuals should be ‘amateurs’, in the French sense of the term, in order to be involved with knowledge production out of their passion and keen interest, rather than as a duty-bound job. This should generate excitement and create dedication in their explorations and activism in and out of their professional fields. Following this idea, I argue in this paper how Egypt's radical feminist, Nawal el Saadawi, a physician by profession but humanist by passion, became a key dissident figure inside her country and abroad. I discuss her writings and activism that contribute towards advancing social justice for all, especially repressed women under patriarchy. Further, I argue that Saadawi's writings take part in a Gramscian hegemonic war against power in order to assert non-coercive knowledge in opposition to power's discursive formation. In doing so, Saadawi is guided by her moral principles. The combination of these two aspects not only makes her a Saidian ‘amateur’ but also a voice of resistance to be reckoned with

Aesthetics · Amateur · Duty · Episteme · Hegemony · Humanism · Opposition (politics · Passion · Patriarchy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · Islamic Studies and History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology