10 pioneering Egyptian women who shattered patriarchal barriers

Although the advancement of gender equality is often thought of as a modern phenomenon, it is the actions of a much earlier generation of women that started this advancement and made possible the changes we see today.

It was the influential actions of this group of pioneering Egyptian women who chose to conquer male-dominated fields and succeed at a time when women remained in the shadows of society, that changed history not just in Egypt, but across the Arab world.

She was a prominent nuclear scientist and the first Egyptian woman to hold a university post after obtaining a PhD in atomic radiation from Cairo University. Mousa was a strong advocate for peaceful use of nuclear technology and spent her life working on making medical use of nuclear technology affordable.

She was one of the leaders of the women's rights movement of the 20th century and it is because of her work that Egyptian women were granted the right to vote by the Egyptian constitution.

She was the first Egyptian woman to become a pilot and the first Egyptian woman to fly a plane solo from Cairo to Alexandria. Nady was friends with Amelia Earheart and inspired many other women of her generation to attend flying school and become pilots as well.

She was a writer and a pioneer in women's education in Egypt as she was the first Egyptian woman to receive a high school diploma and then went on to become the first Egyptian woman to teach Arabic and the first female inspector at the Egyptian Education Ministry.

She was the first Egyptian woman to become a doctor after she returned from studying in London to work at the Kitchener Hospital in Cairo. Sedarous later opened a private clinic specializing in obstetrics and gynecology.

She is considered the pioneer of gender equality in Egypt and the Arab world, as she led the 20th century women's rights movement in Egypt.

Although Sha'rawi grew up wealthy and well-educated, living in the old harem system prevented her from being independent but she managed to leave that life behind and later founded the first philanthropic society run by Egyptian women and the Egyptian Feminist Union.

She was the first Egyptian woman to attend Cairo University and the first Egyptian woman to obtain both a Masters and PhD for her work in Arabic literature. Calamawy was also a prominent writer who influenced modern Arabic literature at a time when men dominated the field.

She was an influential writer who was the first woman to lecture at Al-Azhar University, the first Egyptian and Arab woman to win the King Faisal International Prize and one of the first Egyptian women to work in journalism, especially at Al-Ahram newspaper.

She is the first Egyptian woman to be appointed a judge and she is also the former vice president of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, which is still the highest ever judicial position to be obtained by a woman in Egyptian history.

She was a prominent writer and scholar in the 20th century, advocating for women's advancement alongside Huda Sha'awi but Nasef's writings focused on Islamic modernism instead of Western feminism.

Nasef demanded that women be allowed to participate in worship in mosques and to develop themselves to contribute to the welfare of the Muslim world.