The subject of this interview by Women's Enews, Dr. Nawal El Saadawi, one of the most well-known feminists and political dissidents in the Arab world, was born in 1931 in Kafr Tahla, a small village north of Cairo. A psychiatrist by training, she first rose to international prominence with her 1972 book, "Women and Sex," which dealt with the taboo topic of women's sexuality and led to her dismissal as Egypt's director of public health. She also lost her positions as the chief editor of the medical journal, Health, and as the assistant general secretary of the Egyptian Medical Association. Since then, her many books and novels, most focusing on issues of Arab and Muslim women and sexuality within the context of repressive religious authority and tradition, have made her the target of both Egypt's secular regimes and the Muslim religious establishment.

The 10 African nations that share the waters of the Nile have been meeting this week in Uganda to discuss how the river's precious resources should be distributed. A number of countries, including Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya are calling for the water to be shared more evenly. But according to a treaty signed between Britain and Egypt in 1929, no country can undertake any project that would reduce the volume of water reaching Egypt. Egypt has reportedly said that any effort to alter the terms of the colonial treaty would be regarded as an act of war.

The U.S. led war on Iraq has strengthened opposition to U.S. policies in Egypt; emboldened challenges to the regime; led to a growing consensus in favour of political reform and realignment of the opposition, according to a new report from the International Crisis Group. The ICG says the U.S. administration should take seriously the evidence of political damage that American-Egyptian relations have sustained as a consequence of its regional policies, notably its perceived bias in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, its decision to topple the regime in Iraq, and its heavy-handed admonitions to Egypt and other Arab countries to reform. Washington's policies, and the manner of their implementation, have embarrassed a friendly government, aggravated its domestic difficulties and undermined the U.S.'s self-proclaimed reform agenda.