Asma Halim

Asma Halim (1921–2003) was an Egyptian writer and journalist.

Work

Halim often used "autobiographical styles and techniques" in her writing and was critical of cultural practices, such as polygamy.[1] Hoda Elsadda describes how Halim worked on Hikayat 'Abdu 'Abd al-Rahman (1977) and wrote it as if it was a memoir, taking dictation from a fictional person.[2] The story involves the life of 'Abdu, who is a working class person living in poverty who is oppressed in many different ways.[3] Hanan Hammad, on the other hand, believes another interpretation of the novel, Hikayat, where Halim is the editor of a story dictated to her.[4]

Halim also worked as a journalist.[5]

References

1. Elsadda 2008, p. 151.
2. Elsadda 2008, p. 127.
3. Elsadda, Hoda (2012). Gender, Nation, and the Arabic Novel: Egypt, 1892–2008. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-7486-6918-9.
4. Hammad, Hanan (2016). Industrial Sexuality: Gender, Urbanization, and Social Transformation in Egypt. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-4773-1072-4.
5. Gallagher, Nancy Elizabeth (1990). Egypt's Other Wars: Epidemics and the Politics of Public Health. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-8156-2507-0.

Sources

• Elsadda, Hoda (2008). "Egypt". In Ashour, Radwa; Ghazoul, Ferial J.; Reda-Mekdashi, Hasna (eds.). Arab Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide, 1873–1999. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 9789774161469.