Memoirs of a Woman Doctor

E Saadawi introduces her book, which is a very short account of growing up in Egypt, and training to be a doctor in the face of gender discrimination.
"The woman stands before the man, deprived by the world of her freedom, her honour, her name, her self respect, her true nature and her will. All control over her spiritual life has been taken from her"

The copy I had is a reprint, and El-Saadawi introduces the text saying that although she also is a trained doctor, and like the character in the book, became very successful, the book is not meant to be read as memoir.

Perhaps the most powerful section of the book are the early chapters, which deal with growing up. She describes feeling like a second-class citizen as a girl, unable to run show more and play as she wishes, to be careless of appearances: instead she has to ensure propriety is observed, her body is covered. "Everything in me was shameful and I was a child of just nine years old." Medical training gives her the power (in her own mind) to finally reject the view of herself as the inferior gender:
A vast new world opened up before me. At first I was apprehensive, but I soon plunged avidly into it, overwhelmed by a frenzied passion for knowledge. Science revealed the secrets of human existence to me and made nonsense of the huge differences which my mother had tried to construct between me and my brother
Originally the text was printed as articles in a newspaper, and the current edition is the version that had to pass the censors (the original being lost). Given the tone and critique I wonder what was censored. She is also critical of the medical profession, describing training students without care for patients, without acknowledgement of the limits of medical treatment. She acknowledges ultimately her problems with charging for healthcare when people are in poverty (dealing with a horrible case of TB). She alludes to helping a young girl who was raped (I think) have an abortion (this is left very vague), discusses leaving her first husband after he attempted to end her career.

Although told this is not a memoir, to me it reads as a passionately felt manifesto for gender equality and medical reform. show less

I ordered a stack of Nawal's books because I have never read anything written by an Egyptian woman and I am also a student of Egyptian Arabic, though I have known Egyptian people since 1980.

I did not know what to expect so went in with an open mind and was pleasantly surprized at how much of a feminist she is. I heard she was rebellious and did not believe in arranged marriages, but she is so feminist that it could have been written by someone here in the States and I would not have known.

This book is a novel but mirrors her life as a young doctor, so is semi autobiographical. She is still alive, although I do not know if she is still writing as she is 86 now.

I look forward to reading more of her books !

Reviewer: Dhaval Vyas

In most societies in this world, it is a positive to be born a man. Being born a man will automatically give a person more chances in life than being a woman. 'Memoirs of a Woman Doctor' is the story of an Egyptian girl planning to become a doctor. She lives in a society where a woman's chances of climbing the socio-economic ladder are slim to none. Being the only woman in her medical school, she constantly tries to denegrate men and sometimes scolds humanity in general. She feels men are not the "Gods" that her mother thought they were. She tries to rationalize humanity, saying they are no better than animals. In all this time, she seems to have no attachment to humanity; all she seems to care about are her studies show more and her career. The ending of the book can be interperted in two ways. Some will feel it is a cop out (like I did) and others will feel she learned a very important lesson about this life. Nonetheless, it is a facinating read into the heart and mind of a smart, but frustrated woman living in a socitey dominated my males. show less

Memorie di una donna medico è quel genere di memoir che tende a suscitare una reazione molto forte di rigetto perché al-Sa’dawi è quello che una donna non dovrebbe essere mai: molto decisa, senza vergogna e nessuna paura di essere percepita come aggressiva nei confronti degli uomini. Ad al-Sa’dawi non frega proprio nulla delle loro richieste di rassicurazione: non ha paura di guardarli negli occhi e di riconoscervi la debolezza di chi ha bisogno di sentirsi la parte forte della coppia ed essere riconosciuto tale dai suoi pari.

E qual è la reazione standard a questo genere di atteggiamento fiero? Accuse di odiare la propria femminilità e di spargere parole di odio nei confronti di questi poveri uomini che dopo averti sposata show more pensano di poterti possedere come un pezzo di terra. Sembra davvero che pensino che le donne non siano essere umani che mirano a essere liberi e a realizzare se stessi come persone.

Siamo così abituate a rassicurare gli uomini che sì, lo sappiamo che non tutti loro sono violenti – e che di sicuro non lo è quello che ti ha risposto che lui le donne non le ha mai toccate se non con i fiori – che quasi ci dimentichiamo che nessuna di noi parla di patriarcato per assegnare patenti di buona condotta: ne parliamo perché sempre più donne siano libere dalla violenza maschile. Continuiamo a parlare perché finalmente gli uomini la prendano sul serio e inizino una riflessione pubblica decente.

Al-Sa’dawi è stata parte del fiume delle testimonianze femminili: Memorie di una donna medico è del 1958, quindi con il tempo la riflessione femminista ha sicuramente approfondito e analizzato molte delle questioni che al-Sa’dawi qua sembra appena accennare, ma spero che sarete gentili con un memoir che sa ancora insegnarci a non avere paura di reclamare il nostro spazio e a tenerlo per noi. show less

Nawal El Saadawi, una de las grandes protagonistas de la política, la literatura y la medicina en el Egipto contemporáneo, nos ofrece el relato de sus primeros años consagrados a la medicina y de sus desastrosas experiencias matrimoniales. Combativa, apasionada y lúcida, Nawal sufrió, como tantas mujeres en la época, una doble represión, religiosa y colonial, pero supo sobreponerse y plantar cara, aunque ello hubiera de costarle el empleo e incluso la cárcel.