Creating the New Egyptian Woman

Abstract

In this tome, Russell examines four principal foci in her historiographicwork on Egypt: “the rise of capitalism, the development of an indigenousbureaucracy, the creation of a modern educational system, and the evolutionof the nationalist movement” (p. 5). The author compares and contrasts consumptionrates between lower-, middle-, and upper-class Egyptian womenand investigates how western patterns of capitalism paralleled and divergedfrom indigenous urban templates of consumerism. Against this backdrop,she frames women’s education “in a larger struggle for cultural and intellectualhegemony” (p. 7). Her engaging work is sprinkled with examples andanalyses of Egypt’s societal “contact and confrontation with Europeanthought and culture” (p. 8).Russell’s volume is intended to be accessible to non-specialists as wellas helpful to specialists in the field. Its sources include archival documentsfrom the Dar al-Kutub, L’Institut d’Egypte, the Egyptian National Archives,the libraries of the American University in Cairo and the PresbyterianHistorical Society in Philadelphia, and other primary materials. An earlierversion of this manuscript stemmed from the author’s doctoral researchunder the tutelage of Judith Tucker. Russell’s work is a noteworthy contributionto the fields of Middle East and women’s studies, communication,education, economics, and other related areas of inquiry.The author’s introduction addresses Qasim Amin’s concept of the “NewWoman.” Russell places the disparate views of Egyptian women in the contextof growing consumerism and educational opportunities in the late nineteenthand early twentieth centuries. Chapter 2 discusses Khedive Ismail’snation-building, chapter 3 studies urban patterns of consumption and economicdevelopment, and chapter 4 deftly analyzes the rise of consumer cultureand advertising in the West in contrast to the development of robustconsumerism in Egypt. Chapter 5 addresses “The New Egyptian Womanand Her Western Sisters,” and chapters 6 and 7 focus on female education.The politics of textbooks is reviewed in chapter 8, which is followed by theauthor’s “Conclusion,” detailed notes, and a helpful index.An intriguing passage (p. 20) references the types of education receivedby male and female slaves in the royal harem. Russell explains that potential ...