In 1962 a new political party was developed with a worker-peasant membership, the Arab Socialist Union or ASU. In 1962 the National charter was introduced. I remember how alleviated I was to know that this program included education, health care, and other social services. It also shed light on the constant dilemma of birth control and family planning. One of my favorite things about the charter was it’s demanding the equality of women in the workplace, something I felt should have been accomplished a long time ago. The conservative Egyptians objected to these new social changes in our society. They wanted things back the way they were, especially the way women were looked at.
Although the revolution did not reach all of it’s planned goals and the economy was frequently incompetent, Under the rule of our great King Nasser, Egypt became the superior leader of the Arabs. Egypt’s decision to remain neutral in the 1950s caused unfriendliness in Western powers, especially Saudi Arabia. Nasser’s unexpected death in 1970 did not help our conditions. Many felt like all hope was lost with the life of their loyal and able ruler. Anwar el-Sadat was elected the new president and reversed many of the programs that had been established in the 1960’s. His newly formed alliance with the United States did help our country work through some of it’s problems.
