Latifa al-Zayyat ( ar, لطيفة الزيات) (8 August 1923 – 10 September 1996) 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 ...

activist and writer, most famous for her novel ''

The Open Door ''The Open Door'' is the second studio album by American rock band Evanescence, released on September 25, 2006, by Wind-up Records. The record symbolizes a new beginning for the band, with Amy Lee in full creative control, incorporating new ele ...

'', which won the inaugural

Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature is a literary award for Arabic literature.Dumyat Dumyat or Dunmyat (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Mhèad) is a hill at the western extremity of the Ochil Hills in central Scotland. The name is thought to originate from ''Dun'' (hill fort) ''of the Maeatae''. Although relatively small (its height ...

, Egypt, on 8 August 1923. She earned her bachelor's degree in English in 1946 from

Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

and earned her PhD at the same university in 1957. She was, with Inji Efflatoun, a founding member in 1945 of the (The League of University and Institutes' Young Women). She was a professor of English at the Girls College of Ain Shams University and the chair of the department of English at the same university. She also served as the director of the Egyptian Arts Academy. Two of al-Zayyat's novels are translated to English, ''The Owner of the House'' and ''The Open Door''. The latter, published in 1960, was strikingly modern for its time, both for its use of colloquial Egyptian Arabic and for its depiction of the main character's political and sexual awakening. The novel begins in 1946 and ends in 1956, with the Suez Crisis. It was also turned into a popular film. Al-Zayyat also wrote many essays on women and critiques as well as reviews of novels and political happenings. She died of cancer at age 73 in Cairo on 10 September 1996.

Tribute

On 8 August 2015,

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dedicated a

Doodle A doodle is a drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be composed of random and abstract lines or shapes, generally without ever lift ...

to the writer for the 92nd anniversary of her birth. The Doodle reached all the countries of the

Arab World The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zayyat, Latifa 1923 births 1996 deaths Cairo University alumni Egyptian women academics Academic staff of Ain Shams University Egyptian activists Egyptian women activists Recipients of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature