This coming March will witness the launch of the founding session of the International Festival of Women’s Theatre in Egypt named after the late writer, Fathiya Assal, and its honorary president, actress Sawsan Badr. On the festival, the head and founder of the festival, actress Abeer Lutfi, told An Nahar daily that the step has been delayed in Egypt as most Arab countries show interest in and organize women’s theatre. So why we don’t have an international event concerned with women’s issues in general, Lutfi asked. She pointed out that once she presented the idea in 2018 to the minister of culture, Inas Abdel Daim, the latter was enthusiastic about it and ordered the completion of all necessary procedures to approve it and place it on the map of her ministry. Lutfi explained that the festival was named after Assal who is considered to be the inspiration. Assal has devoted her entire life to defend women’s issues and rights and has relayed their concerns and pains in her books, notably, “She and the impossible”, “Women prison” and “Women without masks”, Lutfi concluded. (An Nahar, January 23, 2020)