Zahia Marzouk (1906 – 1988) was an Egyptian social worker and feminist who founded Egypt's first family planning association.

Biography

Marzouk was born in 1906, one of three sisters. Her father died when she was three but her mother managed to get all three girls educated. In 1923 Marzouk stopped wearing her

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...

, following the example of

Huda Sha'arawi 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 Sha ...

. With some support from her uncle even if her family didn't understand, Marzouk began a teaching career. She was chosen to study in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. She returned to

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 ...

in 1931 where she received an appointment to a teachers' college where Marzouk taught

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

. 1933, she went to the United States to the

Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first Harvard school ...

where she focused on medical

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

, psychology, and children with problems. During the two years of study in the US, Marzouk worked with underprivileged families in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and the mountains of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. She returned to Egypt in 1935 where she began Egypt's social work schools. They were in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

and in

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 ...

. These led direction to Egypt's Ministry of Social Affairs, began in 1938. Marzouk worked there as a psychiatric social worker, the only woman in the department. In 1937 Marzouk founded a small group to look at Egypt's demographic issues. The national population was growing. By the end of the year there was a formal conference which was sponsored by the Egyptian Medical Association. When Marzouk began to speak at the conference the audience who disapproved of her presence and involvement in such work threw

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es and

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

s at her when she began. By the end of her talk she garnered applause. Marzouk also founded an institution for children with a

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, dev ...

who needed

physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

. By the 1950s she had also created a number of institutions for the

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

of the family. Some of her institutions were the Regional Federation of Social Services, the Happy Childhood Association, the Institute for Training and Research in Family Planning and the Alexandria Family Planning Association. Marzouk did not conform to local dress, she wore western style

trousers Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and dr ...

and refused a veil. She was a skilled fund raiser and artist as well. She died in 1988.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marzouk, Zahia 1906 births 1988 deaths Feminists Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni