Internationally renowned writer Nawal El Saadawi, an Egyptian feminist activist, is facing harassment and threats from fundamentalist extremists in her country. Her play, “God Resigns at the Summit Meeting,” has been condemned for alleged attacks on “God, the prophets and the heavenly religions.” A petition supporting her calls these accusations “a license for her assasination” which could “encourage any madman” to come after her. El Saadawi has been hassled over such matters in the past, and cases have been filed against her with the government’s prosecutor general office; in 2001, extremists, using Sharia law, tried to force her to divorce her husband, as punishment for apostasy. Last month, an Egyptian blogger was sentenced to prison for four years on similar charges, so the climate is obviously a scary one. According to a recent reportby Index on Censorship, El Saadawi has fled Egypt for now. Readers who want to help should help distribute this here.
