Challenging Feminist Stereotypes: Nawal El Saadawi’s Creation of Transnational Solidarity at the United Nations Mid-Decade Conference

Abstract: Nawal El Saadawi, an advocate for women’s rights in the Arab World, quickly gained international attention at the United Nations’ 1980 Second World Conference on Women in Copenhagen thanks to her tackling of taboo topics, such as women’s lives in Palestine. Arguing that the conflict with Israel influenced women’s rights in the region and that therefore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict deserved attention at the conference, El Saadawi found herself at the center of a larger debate about what counted as “women’s issues” and what were “political matters.” Spotlighting a particular moment when feminists dug in and grappled with ideas of how to work in solidarity with one another across geopolitical borders, this article provides a window into conversations where feminists challenged assumptions about what “women’s issues” were, who should solve them, and what empowered women. Through the story of El Saadawi’s participation in these exchanges, this article reveals a major shift that took place in transnational feminist circles when women’s issues were deemed inherently political.