Jihan Sadat

A world figure and widow of the late Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat, Jehan Sedat has been active in the women's movement both in her country and in the world. Mrs. Sadat, first lady of Egypt from 1970-1981, was the first wife of a Muslim leader to have her picture in the newspaper, to travel outside her country, and to take up public causes. She has devoted her life to public service and maintaining the legacy of her late husband.

Born in Upper Egypt in 1933, she has spent much of her life challenging traditional Muslim women's roles in society. Involved in social work and women's rights in the Middle East before her husband became president, Mrs.Sadat established the Talla Society, a women's emancipation and education group aimed at helping women become more self-sufficient.  The group trains women in handicrafts and pays tuition for nearly 1,000 secondary school and university students.

She organized a movement to reform Egyptian Civil Rights Law and was successful in reforming victimizing divorce laws. Mrs. Sadat founded Egypt's Wafa' Wal Amal (Faith and Hope) Society for handicapped war veterans and civilians, the first and largest rehabilitation center of its kind in the Middle East.

Three years after President Anwar Sadat attended the Cap David Accords with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, the Egyptian leader was assassinated by Ayman al-Zawahri, an Egyptian doctor and a top lieutenant to Osama bin Laden.

Jehan Sadat worked closely with her husband on his quest for peace. After his assassination, she took on the role of educator, lecturer, and social activist, promoting women's rights and international peace. Sadat, a mother of four, earned a doctorate in 1986 from Cairo University.  She is a senior fellow with the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland. She is the recipient of numerous international honors and awards and is the author of A Woman of Egypt, her best selling autobiography.