On the Occasion of his Centennial, the BA holds “Qassem Amin and Women’s Liberation” Conference
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Alexandria—
Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Library of Alexandria; General Adel Labib, Governor of Alexandria; Judge Tahani El-Gebali; Vice-President of the High Constitutional Court; Dr. Gaber Asfour, Director of the National Centre for Translation, launched the “Qassem Amin and Women’s Liberation” Conference on Thursday, 18 December 2008, to mark the passage of 100 years after his death.
In his speech, Dr. Serageldin emphasized the paramount importance of women empowerment and education and he made reference to a significant study that showed how, with the growing implementation of women empowerment, boys no longer excel over girls in science and math all over world high schools and universities; also, girls continue to score their distinction in linguistic expression at the same phases.
On the other hand, General Adel Labib asserted that Qassem Amin is considered an illustriously unique pioneer and a social reformer who has fathomed the essence of Islam and whose name was linked, in the records of Egyptian history, to the emancipation of women, believing that it is part and parcel of reforming the whole society through education.
Judge Tahani El-Gebali also expressed her profound appreciation to Qassem Amin, the judge and lawyer who hailed the values of justice and social equality. She stated that one hundred years ago none could have imagined that Amin`s call to women`s liberation would bear its fruit, and added that women nowadays are imprisoned in new captives than those faced by Amin, which calls for a new enlightening pioneer that takes from his memory its inspiration.
In the same context, Dr. Gaber Asfour called attention to that fact that full-fledged freedom for men and women is the first and foremost prerequisite for the progress of any society, noting that rationality becomes a synonym for freedom in such conditions. He further explained that women`s liberation is in the vein of a triangle that takes from education, law, and political reform its three sides. Dr. Asfour added that the mission of Qassem Amin must be continued in order to defeat the dark storms that have been hurling upon us from a long time ago.