Nasser – My Husband

Title: Nasser – My Husband

Author: Tahia Gamal Abdel Nasser

Translator: Shereen Mosaad

Publisher: The American University in Cairo Press, 2013 (First published 2011)

ISBN: 9789774166112

Pages: 122

Even though the Middle East has not been under colonial domination at any time in its history, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War caused most of the territory coming under the rule of colonial powers like Britain and France. When colonialism beat a retreat post-World War 2, the Arab world came under immense ferment. Monarchy found it difficult to hold on to power in most of the countries. A military coup in 1952 under Gamal Abdel Nasser ended the reign of king Farouk in Egypt and took on the course of modernization and pan-Arab nationalism. Nasser wanted to build a dam at Aswan at great cost, which was essential for irrigation and power generation. The US and UK promised financial aid for constructing the mega dam in return for Egyptian alliance against the Soviet bloc in the ensuing cold war. But Nasser saw it fit to play one side against the other and extract maximum benefit to his own country. Exasperated by the prevarications of Nasser, the western powers withdrew their offer of support to the dam. Incensed at this, Nasser sought and obtained Soviet backing for the project. Moreover, he nationalized the British-owned Suez Canal Company which operated the most strategic shipping channel in the world that offered a shortcut for cargo vessels to reach the Mediterranean from the Red Sea. Britain, France and Israel invaded Egypt in 1956 but had to back down under intense American pressure. This victory caused Nasser’s reputation to soar to astronomical heights that Syria briefly joined Egypt to form the United Arab Republic. This book, written by the wife of the mercurial Egyptian leader, examines Nasser as a beloved husband, doting father and caring brother at home, away from his official avatar as the president of the country. Tahia Gamal Abdel Nasser was married to the leader for 26 years until death parted them. We find snippets of the man behind the façade of power in his true elements. Tahia strictly limited her pursuits behind the four walls of home and the affairs of her five children. This was not due to any religious inhibitions. The book is very short and the readers are treated to a ringside view of the Arab demagogue who ignited the imagination and aspirations of the Egyptian people.

Nasser kept politics out of his home and Tahia kept her influence strictly inside it. He was so caring to spare his wife of any tension that he did not divulge to her the fact that he was about to undergo appendectomy until after the surgery. A mild heart attack was also shielded from the wife until the situation stabilized. When his eldest daughter came of age, Nasser made her his personal secretary but it was in no way designed to mould her as his heir. The family stayed under the protective umbrella of the husband and Tahia was almost ignorant of what was going on around their house. Egypt was moving through a difficult phase in 1952 (military coup), 1956 (Suez crisis) and 1967 (Arab-Israeli war), but readers do not get any clue of it because these upheavals, terrible as they were, failed to create any ripple in Nasser’s personal life on account of his integrity to keep public matters insulated from the family members. No incidents are narrated where the president was seen discussing political matters even with his grown-up sons.

Nasser’s family altogether kept out of politics and harm’s way even though his sons stood a good chance to dabble in it in the footsteps of their illustrious father. After his untimely demise of a heart attack at the age of 52, his colleague Anwar al-Sadat succeeded him as the president. The family kept a distinct distance from Sadat and Tahia accuses him of maligning the memory of her husband. This dislike stoops to the level of the personal. Sadat is claimed to have been unaware of the revolution that unseated the king and was not even in Cairo. He was given a job in the new regime under the orders of Nasser. Tahia discloses that many of the articles published under Sadat’s name were ghostwritten by none other than Nasser himself. His physical appearance is also described in a pejorative way when the author unnecessarily reminds the readers about Sadat’s dark complexion on two occasions in the book. The family kept aloof from public eye during the reigns of Anwar al-Sadat and Hosni Mubarak and preserved this memoir under wraps for forty years till Mubarak was ousted from power in 2011. Tahia died in 1990 and this posthumous book was first published in Arabic. Apart from such minor recriminations against Sadat, there are no controversial subjects discussed in the narrative.

This book is only about personal reminiscences, but it still casts some interesting light on the personal life of a charismatic Arab leader who held so much potential to bring about an eventual deal with Israel in realizing lasting peace in Palestine. There are 80 pages of photographs in the book with text spanning just 116 pages. Nasser was addicted to photography and a lot of candid moments are covered in the book. Glancing over the photos, one cannot help wonder at the relaxed nature of religious rules on women’s dressing among the Egyptian middle class at that time. There are many tens of pictures in which Tahia is present, all of them in western attire and none of them in purdah. The book is graced with a foreword by Hoda, the author's eldest daughter.

The book is recommended.

Rating: 3 Star