In loving memory
by Heddy (granddaughter)
She passed away when I was still a toddler so I was not fortunate enough to get to know her. However, ever since I learnt more about her and understood her struggle to guarantee more rights and independence for Egyptian women, I started getting to know her better. I saw her through the lives of both my mother and my aunt. They both got their PHDs at a relatively young age in a field (science) which was not an 'obvious' choice for Egyptian women at the time. They created their own familes, whilst maintaining their independence as strong contributing members of their societies with solid careers in their respective fields (upon her return from Paris, Doria Shafik was refused a professor's position at Cairo University, her daughters have been university professors for the past thrity years, with the eldest now heading a learning center at AUC). They brought us up (their daughters) to aspire to create a life of our own which did not just rotate around our families. They always encouraged us to pursue our interests and turn them into careers. Anna Doria wanted so much 'more' for Egyptian women and I see that her daughters have lived out her dream.
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