What did you do on 23 July, 1952? Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Egyptian revolution, Al-Ahram Weekly, in this issue, begins a series of interviews with leading figures in the nation's political, social and cultural life Hot line to Washington Aziza Hussein, a pioneer in development and veteran champion of women's rights, accompanied her husband Ahmed Hussein to Washington as the revolution's ambassador. The first female representative of post-1952 Egypt in international circles, she spoke to Aziza Sami about US-Egyptian relations during the early years of the July Revolution, and her assessment of its legacy Aziza Hussein was in Jamaica in July of 1952 when the Free Officers announced that they were ousting King Farouk. She was on a three-month tour with her husband Ahmed Hussein, who was heading a UN commission studying development in the Caribbean and Mexico. The Husseins learnt of the power transfer through the newspapers. Aziza's first reaction was one of "pleasant surprise". It was the same for her husband who a year earlier had resigned his post as minister of social affairs in Mustafa Al-Nahas's Wafd government in protest over intervention in his work. Prior to becoming minister in 1950, Ahmed Hussein had attained international recognition for his efforts in social and rural reform, in addition to establishing Egypt's first social security system. News of the Free Officers' assumption of power was also welcomed by Aziza Hussein "on a more personal and immediate level". Following the Caribbean tour, she was to travel to the US in October at the invitation of the American Friends of the Middle East (AMIDEAST). The purpose was to deliver lectures "in which I would be speaking on behalf of Egypt about social reform issues, the Palestinian question and women's rights". However, she worried about embarking on the tour "at a time when the international media was full of criticism for Egypt because of the negative image presented by King Farouk on account of his corruption and personal behaviour. All sorts of stories were being circulated about him. It was going to be very embarrassing for me to have to answer questions on that count. I knew I would have to be on the defensive. Now, with the new political change, I felt would not have to answer such questions." 'The Free Officers during this period put priority on minimising the points of friction with the US. They wanted to secure the British withdrawal from the canal zone, by bringing in the Americans to put pressure on them' 'After 1956, Ahmed Hussein wanted to return from Washington. He witnessed the growing rift in Egyptian- American ties, and felt that his role was being minimised, to explaining events after the fact' Ahmed Hussein returned to Egypt while Aziza continued her seven-week tour of the US. She spoke of efforts at reform based on her experiences working with her husband in rural areas, at welfare centres and Gamiyat Al-Fellah (The Peasants' Society) which he had founded in1951. She emphasises the non-governmental character of the organisation established by her husband, describing it as "a civil society organisation aimed at developing the rural community". While on tour in the US, Aziza Hussein came to the notice of the Free Officers. Although she was learning about the new regime's plans for Egypt from afar, based on that knowledge and her understanding of the reforms that people had been struggling to get off the ground in the period just before the revolution, she gave a lecture at a church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania about the changes in Egypt. She spoke "in a very positive and hopeful manner about the future. I was very excited to be able to tell them [her audience] about social conditions in the country, and how all of the reforms that had been stalled would now be implemented because the Free Officers had taken over and they were interested in improving conditions." In her lectures she discussed a vision for reform that was based largely on her husband's work, including land reform through progressive taxation, the establishment of agricultural cooperatives, housing schemes and increasing the wages of agricultural labourers. The following day, the lecture received a full page of coverage in a local paper. The Home Council of the American College for Girls in Pittsburgh sent a cable to General Mohamed Naguib to the effect that Hussein was an excellent representative for Egypt and had presented extensive information about domestic conditions and the country's prospects. It was only when she returned to Egypt at the end of October that Hussein found out that her father, Sayed Shukri, had been appointed minister of health in Naguib El-Hilali's "one-day government" -- the last government formed under the monarchy. The fact that Shukri was in office for such a brief period left him with "no rancour whatsoever", something Hussein attributes to her father's "strong views on social and political reform", an orientation that his son-in-law shared. Shukri, says Hussein, was very enlightened in his thinking to the extent that she characterises him as "a political rebel, in a sense". Aziza Hussein, not surprisingly, came to view social and political reform from a secular, progressive perspective. This orientation was reinforced by her marriage to Ahmed Hussein, who, despite his Western education and staunch anti-communist views was dubbed by journalist Moussa Sabri during the monarchy as "the Red Minister". Aziza Hussein explains this perception, saying, "His thinking was more in line with that of the Fabian socialists." Another development during Aziza Hussein's American tour was the Free Officers' extension of an invitation to her husband to join the new revolutionary cabinet. Contacts were mediated by the new Waqf Minister Sheikh Hassan El-Baqouri and journalists Mostafa and Ali Amin. Aziza Hussein says that the new regime sought her husband's participation in the cabinet "because of his belief in reform, his anti-corruption stances under the monarchy and his extensive international contacts". But Ahmed Hussein declined the offer. "Ahmed did so because he knew that he would be unable to accept the duality between authority and responsibility that he believed would inevitably become manifest in a military government. He knew that army men would have the power, while civilians would bear the responsibility, without exercising any real authority." At the time, the Free Officers had placed a priority on obtaining a commitment from the British to withdraw from the Suez Canal zone. Once again, feelers were extended in Ahmed Hussein's direction. That time his assistance was sought in efforts to induce the Americans to pressure the British towards withdrawing from the zone. Subsequently, Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Ahmed Hussein and the American ambassador to Cairo, Jefferson Caffery, met in 1952, in another development that occurred during Aziza Hussein's American tour. Following the meeting, Nasser appointed Ahmed Hussein as Egypt's ambassador to Washington. "I believe that Nasser was convinced that Ahmed's approach to addressing Caffery was effective and would bring results with the Americans." At the time, Nasser also brought up Aziza Hussein's success during the AMIDEAST tour, suggesting that the couple would be a diplomatic asset in promoting Egypt's image internationally. Click to view caption In April 1953 the Husseins left for the US. A farewell dinner was held in their honour by the Revolutionary Command Council at a villa in the Pyramids District. Aziza Hussein says that at that time there appeared to be "a strong affinity" between her husband and Nasser. She remembers Nasser telling Ahmed Hussein, "We are together. We share one destiny." Ahmed Hussein suggested to Nasser that they should establish a "hot-line" which would allow Hussein to contact the president without involving the Foreign Ministry as a "go- between". While in Washington, Aziza Hussein was, at times, virtually witness to Egyptian attempts to lobby the US for support. Field Marshall Abdel-Hakim Amer once gave her a critical message to relay to her husband who was not at the embassy at the time. "He told me to have my husband tell [US Secretary of State] Foster Dulles that the British were threatening to retaliate in response to the kidnapping of a British soldier by the [Egyptian] fedayeen [commandos] in the canal area. I delivered the message to Hussein. The next day the Americans had put a stop to any plans in that regard." She views that period of Egyptian-American relations as one where the Free Officers "put a priority on minimising the points of friction with the US, including, even, the question of Israel". In 1954, Aziza Hussein was, once again, given a public role in her own right, having been appointed to Egypt's delegation to the UN General Assembly, making her the first Egyptian woman to be a member of the committee. In 1953 and 1954, the Egyptian Embassy in Washington vigorously lobbied Washington to secure a British withdrawal from the canal zone. In his contacts with the American government, Ahmed Hussein reiterated Egypt's right to independence, its commitment to securing free passage in the canal and using military aid solely for defence purposes. An agreement for the British withdrawal from the canal zone was signed in 1954. Rather than putting an end to tension, the agreement was followed by its escalation. When the British withdrew from the Suez Canal, Zionist lobbying of the US Congress stalled the delivery of long-promised economic and military aid to Egypt. The lobby argued that Egypt had become a threat to Israel's security. In February 1955 Israel attacked the Gaza Strip. Two days earlier, the Baghdad Pact had been concluded between the US, Turkey and Iraq, giving Cairo the impression that it was being marginalised. Lobbying by Egypt to secure arms from the US had failed. Consequently, Nasser accepted a standing offer in this respect from the Soviet Union. He informed the new American ambassador in Cairo, Henry Byroade, that Egypt would have to turn to the Russians for support. When the Americans did not respond, Egypt went ahead with an arms deal with Czechoslovakia. It was then that communication between Nasser and Ahmed Hussein began to falter. Her husband, explains Aziza Hussein, was "neither consulted nor informed of the agreement with the Soviets". Nevertheless, in Cairo for a brief spell, Egypt's ambassador to the US hosted a dinner party at his father- in-law's home on Rashdan Street in Dokki, bringing together Nasser and Byroade. Kermit Roosevelt, a leading CIA figure, and American President Dwight Eisenhower's special representative Eric Johnston attended, as did Revolutionary Command Council members Abdel- Hakim Amer and Abdel-Latif El-Baghdadi. The meeting ended before the dinner began because of the heightened tension which erupted right after the group sat down to talk. Back in Washington, Ahmed Hussein worked to present the view that the Czech arms deal would not upset the balance of power in the region which was already tilted in favour of Israel. This course of action, explains Aziza Hussein, was taken with a view "to maintaining positive ties with the Americans and securing funding for the [Aswan] High Dam". However, American policy had already shifted towards isolating Egypt. Nasser recognised the People's Republic of China in May 1955, which widened the rift, but even so attempts to secure American funding for the Aswan High Dam continued. In July 1956, Ahmed Hussein met John Foster Dulles in Washington. Dulles told him that the US had decided not to fund the dam on two counts. First, explained Dulles, it would entail too great a cost for the Egyptian people in terms of austerity measures. Second, the American public would "oppose giving aid to a country working against the interests of the US", Aziza Hussein recounted. In 1956, the Husseins attended a luncheon at Borg Al- Arab with Nasser's family and journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal. On that occasion Nasser informed Ahmed Hussein of his decision to nationalise the Suez Canal Company. "My husband's point of view was that the action would be unnecessarily premature and too much of an international challenge because within 12- years Britain's concession for the canal company was scheduled to end, and the company would return to Egypt." But Nasser was firm in his intended course. Ahmed Hussein subsequently prepared a study entitled "The Suez Canal, Facts and Figures", in which he argued in favour of Egypt's nationalisation of the canal company, citing international law. This paper was to be distributed abroad immediately following the announcement. Nasser declared the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company on 26 July 1956. The repercussions were immediate. Ahmed Hussein learnt from Newseek's editor Harry Kern that Britain and France were preparing to attack Egypt. Aziza Hussein says, "Kern learnt this from British Prime Minister Selwyn Lloyd, who told him of the plans in detail, including the attacks on railroads. Ahmed Hussein relayed what he had learnt to the Free Officers. But the response he received from them was that he was 'unduly concerned'." When the Suez War took place in October 1956, Ahmed Hussein lobbied Eisenhower and Dulles to bring about a withdrawal of foreign troops from Egypt. Eisenhower brought international pressure to bear on Britain, France and Israel through the "Uniting for Peace" resolution issued by the UN General Assembly. In the three years which followed, Ahmed Hussein "each year expressed his desire to return to Egypt permanently". As his wife explains, "Ahmed witnessed at close hand the growing rift in Egyptian-American ties and felt that his role was being minimised to explaining events after the fact. He also believed that he had accomplished what he had gone to the US to do, which was to end the British occupation of the Suez Canal zone." In 1958, Nasser spoke to Hussein about the plans to unite Egypt with Syria and form the United Arab Republic. "Ahmed did not believe in that course of action. He asked to be relieved from his position as ambassador if Nasser were to go ahead with the merger. Nasser refused [to accept the de facto resignation]. We had been in Cairo and so we returned to Washington", and, as Aziza Hussein explains, "Two days later we were recalled to Cairo and Ahmed was asked to leave his post." Nasser later offered Ahmed Hussein the job of "ambassador at large", an offer which he declined. He opted to remain out of public life until his death in 1984. Aziza Hussein explains her husband's withdrawal from politics, saying, he was "never a politician but a man concerned with development. He was working from one vantage point, and Nasser from the other. Their priorities were different. Nasser was taking steps as a leader that brought him political gains but which were often at odds with the objectives that Ahmed, as an ambassador, was working towards attaining in Washington." She highlights one instance, in particular: "When the Egyptian Embassy was seeking Washington's support for funding the dam, there was resistance from certain lobbies such as the 'Taiwan' lobby. This was formed of congressional supporters of Taiwan, who were also from the cotton-growing South in the US. They initially refused the project because it would expand cultivable land in Egypt. They regarded projects promoting agriculture as being against their interests, since they would increase competition from other countries." She says that her husband made extensive efforts to overcome this lobby's resistance to the Aswan High Dam, and actually succeeded in securing its support. "But Nasser subsequently recognised the People's Republic of China, which was viewed as a step of great historic and moral significance for the Third World. But it made working in Washington frustrating for Ahmed." Nasser continued to hold the Husseins in high regard and Ahmed Hussein never experienced censure despite the often blunt and scathing criticism that he expressed about the regime to his many friends and visitors. Aziza Hussein continued to work in the international political domain and was appointed Egypt's representative in the UN Status of Women' s Commission in 1962. She went on to receive the highest accolades nationally and internationally for her pioneering -- and voluntary -- work during the next 50 years, in population issues as well as in the areas of women's rights and civil rights. Nasser, as the oft-repeated story goes, used to say that he wanted his daughters to grow up to be "like Aziza Hussein". For someone who has, over the years, identified the non-governmental sector as the most appropriate venue for tackling society's problems, how does she view the 23 July revolution? "It has tended towards excessive control," she says. An eye-witness to Egypt's moves on the international stage during the early years of the Cold War in the 1950s, Aziza Hussein also saw through her work, first hand, how the system functioned domestically, on issues related to social development and reform. "One of Nasser's great achievements was the rights he extended to women, expanding the scope of these to an extent that was unprecedented in Egypt. Women now have the right to vote, but how many do? The top- down approach has permeated all aspects of our life. The door has yet to be opened to allow individuals who are not a part of the power structure to have an impact on society. When this occurs the 23 July revolution will have corrected its course from within."
