Iqbāl Barakah

Iqbal Baraka (; born 1942) is an Egyptian journalist, women's rights activist, and writer. She served as editor in chief of the women's magazine Hawaa for over two decades. Baraka is known for her work to advance the role of women in Egyptian and Islamic society. She is considered "one of the most influential feminists in the Arab world."

Early life and education Baraka was born in 1942 in Cairo, Egypt.

She obtained a bachelor's degree in English from Alexandria University in 1962, and a second bachelor's from Cairo University in Arabic literature in 1979.

Career After graduating from Alexandria University, Baraka worked in public relations for the multinational conglomerate Philips before leaving to work as an interpreter. She then moved to Kuwait for a position as an English teacher.

On returning to Egypt, she began her career as a journalist in English-language radio. She then went to work as an editor for Sabah El Kheir (Good Morning), a magazine affiliated with the Rose al-Yūsuf Group. In this role, she often fought with Islamic thinkers over human rights and the role of women in Islam. As she later said: "I take as my basic assumption that women are not simply the tools of fashion designers and manicurists, that women have real and serious interests and concerns we must deal with."

She has also contributed as an editor to Rose al-Yūsuf, Sayidaty, and other magazines. She has written highly charged political columns for a variety of newspapers, including Al-Ahram.

Baraka has written over 20 books, mostly dealing with Muslim women and society. Her first novel, published in 1970, was Friends Forever. Other novels include Dawn for the First Time and Diaries of a Working Woman. Notable nonfiction works include The Hijab: A Modern Vision, Love in Early Islam, Muslim Women in the Conflict of Fez Versus Hat, and The New Woman. She also co-founded the Association of Egyptian Women Filmmakers.

She opposes the hijab, calling it a remnant of the dark ages and declaring it has nothing to do with the religion of Islam itself.

Baraka has also fought discrimination against Copts and other minorities.

Selected works

Fiction Friends Forever (1970) Dawn for the First Time (1975) Layla and the Unknown (1980) Fishing in the Sea of Illusions (1981) Crocodile of the Lake (1983) Whenever Spring Returns (1985) An Incident of Rape (1993, stories) Diaries of a Working Woman (1993)

Nonfiction Love in Early Islam (1998) Islam and the Challenges of Our Time (1999) Return to Fadda (2001) The New Woman (2002) The Hijab: A Modern Vision (2002)

Travel writing A Journey to Turkey (1983)