Ester Akhnoukh Fanous or Esther Fanous (), also known as Ester Wissa (February 19, 1895,

Assiut AsyutAlso spelled ''Assiout'' or ''Assiut'' ( ar, أسيوط ' , from ' ) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt. It was built close to the ancient city of the same name, which is situated nearby. The modern city is located at , ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

– August 1990) was an

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. From a prominent

Coptic Coptic may refer to: Afro-Asia * Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya * Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century * Coptic alphabet ...

family, she was a founding member of the New Woman Society and helped found the Women's Wafd Central Committee in 1920. Her son Hanna Fahmy Wissa has written about her in his family memoir ''Assiout''.Hanna Fahmy Wissa, ''Assiout: the saga of an Egyptian family'', 2000.

Life

Esther Fahmy Wissa was the daughter of doctor

Akhnoukh Fanous Akhnoukh Fanous (; 1856–1946) was a prominent Egyptians, Egyptian political figure of the early twentieth century. Fanous is best known for founding the Egyptian Party in 1908, which consisted mainly of wealthy Copts, who were "Egyptians of Chr ...

and Balsam Wissa. The national and religious atmosphere dominating her parents' house had a great influence on her personality; she accordingly knew the freedom through the ideas and opinions raised within her family and through the valuable books existing in her father's library. When the famous lawyer,

Makram Ebeid Makram Ebeid Pasha ( ar, مكرم عبيد باشا; 25 October 1889 – 5 June 1961) was an Egyptian Coptic politician. Ebeid was the Wafd Party secretary-general between 1936 and 1942. He was also the Minister of Finance 1930, 1936–1937, 1942 ...

, a friend of their family visited her house, Ester Fanous learned that Saad Zaghloul Pasha intended with some friends to travel to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

demanding to lift British mandate on Egypt. She then decided to revolt against British

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

in early 1919. Feeling grief when the demonstrations overwhelmed

and the British shot the demonstrators, Ester wrote to President Wilson of the United States, saying: "Four persons were sent to fight in this battle" (she means Saad Zaghloul and his friends), "if it is urgent we will send 4 hundreds may be 4 thousands or 4 millions to liberate the 4 precedents. Triple of this number insists to establish justice in our homeland. Elders regain their strength, men are valiant and women are virile". Ester traveled to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

to meet with Safia Zaghloul who proposed the signature of three women on the message dedicated to President Wilson. Hundred women were gathered to sign this message and submit their objections; then they went in a feminist demonstration raising their flags and chanting slogans. Together with

Hoda Shaarawi Huda Sha'arawi or Hoda Sha'rawi ( ar, هدى شعراوي, ; 23 June 1879 – 12 December 1947) was a pioneering Egyptian feminist leader, suffragette, nationalist, and founder of the Egyptian Feminist Union. Early life and marriage Huda Sh ...

, Ester Fanous decided to establish a committee representing the women of

acting jointly with the delegation. In St Mark Church, the women held a meeting where

was nominated chair and Fekria Hosny, Ehsan Al-Qoussy and Ester Fanous were nominated as secretaries. They subsequently held a political meeting in a mosque where they delivered their speeches for the first time with men. In March 1923, Ester Fanous established with other women the Egyptian Feminist Union to improve women's level in literature and social aspect and to promote them to be treated on equal footing with men in rights and obligations. She was involved in other associations such as the

Young Women's Christian Association The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

and the Labour Association of Egypt as well as other charitable associations. Ester Fanous died in August 1990, leaving a significant influence of national unity and the endeavour to emancipate

Women.

References

External links

* .
Egyptian women make their mark
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanous, Ester Egyptian feminists Egyptian people of Coptic descent Coptic Christians from Egypt 1895 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Egyptian women politicians 20th-century Egyptian politicians 20th-century Oriental Orthodox Christians