Arabic: جميلة إسماعيل Born: April 6 Gameela Ismail is a prominent opposition figure and an activist for human, civil, and women's rights. Formerly married to politician Ayman Nour, Ismail is well respected by the Egyptian people. Ismail is a member of the Egyptian Women for Change, the National Association for Change, Madaneya movement for protection of the civil state, a board member of the Egyptian National Council, and is vice-president of the liberal al-Ghad Party. Ismail began her career as a presenter on Egyptian State television. She has worked as a journalist and was a foreign correspondent for Newsweek for 20 years. Ismail was recognized as a strong anti-regime force during the presidency of Hosni Mubarak, and since his ouster she has focused her efforts on maintaining a civil government in Egypt and continuing her battles for human and women's rights. Ismail was very active during the January 25 Revolution, and was on the streets and in Tahrir Square every day. In 2005 she spearheaded Ayman Nour's presidential campaign. During Nour's subsequent imprisonment she lobbied tirelessly for his release and took on a more prominent role in the liberal al-Ghad party, which Nour founded in 2004. In 2001 she ran in Shura Council elections and in 2010 for the People's Assebly, both in Qasr el-Nil district and against entrenched members of the formerly ruling National Democratic Party. In 2011 she was named one of 150 ‘Women who shake the World' by Newsweek, along with fellow Egyptians Nawal el-Saadawy, Dalia Ziada, and Salma Said. Gameela graduated from the Faculty of Mass Communication at Cairo University in 1986, and obtained a diploma in Interpretation from the American University in Cairo.
