Acclaimed Egyptian feminist Nawal Saadawi dies at age 89

CAIRO (AP) — Nawal Saadawi, a renowned Egyptian feminist, psychiatrist and novelist, whose writings have stirred controversy for decades in an overwhelming conservative society, has died of age-related health problems in Cairo, officials said. She was 89. Egypt’s Culture Minister Inas Abdel-Dayem mourned Saadawi’s passing on Sunday, saying her writings had created a great intellectual movement. Born in October 1931 in a Nile Delta village, Saadawi studied medicine in Cairo University. She worked as a psychiatrist and university lecturer and authored dozens of books. As a fierce advocate of women rights in Egypt and the Arab world, her writings focused mainly on feminism, domestic violence against women and religious extremism.