Milestones of Egyptian Women’ Progress in Education and Science from the Nineteenth Century to the Present

Ancient Egyptians’ significant progress lies in developments involving almost all parts of life and particularly gender equality. For more than seven millennia, the Ancient Egyptian civilization provided the roots from which humanity determined its legacy for equality between both genders without any discrimination. Sadly, after seven millennia, Egyptian women’s role declined due to several mistaken conflicts until Mohamed Ali’s era in the nineteenth century. During Mohamed Ali’s time, women’s roles and status started to flourish again in all domains. However, the movement for gender equality was stagnant by the middle of the 1900s. It turned out to be challenging to recognize any remarkable achievement either in the social and scientific life supported by Egyptian women. Therefore, it was essential to shed light on these historical milestones and Egyptian women’s forgotten achievements. Although it was hard for women to progress in modern-day Egypt, there have been some exceptions. For example, several extraordinary stories of women could learn science and develop successful scientific careers, particularly when the traditional perspective for women limiting them to household duties. With the hope that more female Egyptian pioneers will prosper again as it was in old times or amid Mohamed Ali’s time, this chapter sheds light on the late fruitful Egyptian women’s achievements in the early and late 1900s and 2000s. We further compare the status of Egyptian and European women in modern times.