Nawal El Saadawi qualifyied as a doctor in 1955. But in 1972 she lost her position as a Director in the Ministry of Health in Egypt because of her militant views. This was the year she published her first book Women and Sex, which caused outrage with its call for equality for women in the Arab world. In 1981, she was imprisoned in Eygpt for the first time. The following year, she founded the Arab Women's Solidarity Association. In 1991, the organisation was closed down.
She is the author of 32 books, including many novels. Her best-selling work is The Hidden Face of Eve isstill banned in Egypt. In 2001, there was an attempt to separate her from her husband, because of her seemingly anti-Islamic views.
