Trailblazing Egyptian feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi dies, aged 89

Egypt’s renowned feminist, psychiatrist and writer, Nawal El Saadawi has died of age-related health problems in Cairo at the age of 89, offiials have reported.

Ms El Saadawi’s writings have caused controversy for many years, in an otherwise very conservative society.

She was born in 1931 in a village on the Nile delta, just north of the country’s capital, Cairo. She was one of nine children born to her government official father and mother from a wealthy background.

Having studied medicine at Cairo University, as well as Columbia University, New York, Ms El Saadawi worked as a doctor before specialising in psychiatry. She also went on to lecture at universities and write both books and in newspapers.