Nawal El Saadawi, the first woman  Egyptian physician, feminist writer, activist, and psychiatrist has committed her life to the liberation of women and speaking truth to power through her writings on the subject of women in Islam, paying particular attention to the practice of female genital mutilation in her society. She has suffered imprisonment and censorship for the cause of the freedom of others, and has been described as "the Simone de Beauvoir of the Arab World". Now in her late 80s, she is ill, facing expensive surgery and post-hospital care bills beyond her means. The Egyptian government has said they will help her too; we hope they do.