Su'ad al-Fatih al-Badawi

Su'ad al-Fatih Mohammed al-Badawi (1 January 1932 – 23 December 2022) was a Sudanese academic, politician, and journalist. She was known both for her advocacy of women's rights and for her support of Islamism.

Al-Badawi held degrees from the University of Khartoum and the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and became a professor of Arabic at Omdurman Islamic University in 1980. Her association with Islamism began in the 1950s, when she was one of the first female members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Badawi later joined the National Islamic Front, and beginning in the 1980s represented the party for several terms in the National Legislature. She also served in the Pan-African Parliament.

Early life and academic career

Al-Badawi was born in Al-Ubayyid, Kurdufan Province. Her paternal grandfather was a prominent Islamic scholar in Omdurman, while her father was a district commissioner, in office during both the Anglo-Egyptian condominium and after independence in 1956. Because of her father's work, al-Badawi lived in a number of different cities as a child, spending periods in Al-Ubayyid, Berber, Atbara, Khartoum, and Omdurman. She completed her secondary education with the support of her father, who had liberal views towards girl's education despite the prevailing societal attitude at the time.