Nawal el Saadawi’s “In Camera” is a short story about how a young woman named Leila Al-Fargani is put on trial for something ridiculous: referring to the President as ‘stupid’. Saadawi writes about many issues, including the roles of women and the dehumanization of the female sex.

Throughout this time period, especially in Egypt, women were considered inferior to men and were told not to speak most of the time. This is exactly what Leila Al-Fargani does, as she speaks her mind and calls the President ‘stupid.’ The President is portrayed in a somewhat godly fashion, as the judge states: “This student, who is not yet twenty years old, refers to Him, whom God protect to lead this noble nation all his life, as ‘stupid.'” However, his high status wasn’t what got her trouble, but the destruction of societal boundaries is what got her in trouble. Clearly, Leila is put on trial for disobeying the societal norms. This claim is furthered when her mother asks: “What’s politics got to do with you? You’re not a man. Girls of your age think only about marriage” (1109). Women were not allowed to do the things that men were able to do, especially politics, since she was living in a fairly patriarchal society. Women weren’t meant to live for themselves, but for men. Saadawi sees fault in this, since women had their own lives to live and their own opinions, so they should be able to state what they feel, without being punished by other males, which is in this case, the judge and the President.

Another evident theme in this short story, is the issue of violence against women. Throughout the story, Leila has flashbacks of a series of terrible events. She constantly remembers the incident where a group of men raped her, until “her tongue, her eyes, her mouth, her nose, all part of her body, were constrained” (1106). While she is being raped, one of the men say: “This is the way we torture you women – by depriving you of the most valuable thing you possess” (1113). This clearly illustrates what men felt towards women, as they felt that the only thing valuable about a woman is what is in between their legs. However, Leila responds with “You fool! And the most valuable thing I possess is not between my legs. You’re all stupid. And the most stupid among you is the one who leads you” (1113). Her response furthers the idea the Leila, unlike other women, was able to speak her thoughts, without the fear of punishment from men.

El Saadawi’s writing is one of the many stories that questions the roles of women, like Wollstonecraft, Sor Juana, etc. It is very interesting how in all different parts of the world, women were considering inferior to men, and how these group of women authors went against what was expected of them, and wrote powerful stories that strove to make a change.