After Abdel Fatah al-Sisi was sworn in June 8 to assume his position as the President of Egypt, questions have arisen around the role of his wife, Intisar Amer, as previous Egyptian first ladies have adopted wide and varying approaches to the ceremonial position.
The “First Lady of Egypt” is the unofficial title of the wife of the president in Egypt, as the position is informal and has been perceived differently by the public in past decades.
Tahya Kazim, the wife of former President Gamal Abdul Nasser preferred to stay out of the limelight and distanced herself from her husband’s widely loved public persona.
Her father’s Iranian origins drew claims of her being Shiite, but her daughter Mona denied these claims in a statement to Al-Arabiya in July 2012. She said her mother did not know a word of Farsi and followed the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam.
Kazim devoted her life to homemaking and her children for 18 years, and distanced herself from politics and non-protocol appearances during her husband’s rule from 1956 to 1970.
She has been portrayed as a character in a number of movies and series, where she appeared as a loyal wife who was always there for her husband and family. Kazim died on March 25, 1992.
Unlike Kazim, Jihan Safwat, the wife of former President Anwar Sadat, chose an active public role during her husband’s reign from 1970 until his assassination on October 6, 1981.
Always referred to as Jihan Sadat, she launched a number of social initiatives and developmental projects aimed at encouraging women’s education and women’s rights. One of her most famous projects was the “El-Wafaa wa El-Amal” (Loyality and Hope) Association.
After Sadat’s assassination, Jihan did not end her public appearances, especially on national occasions linked to her husband’s reign like memorials of the October War. Her last appearance was on June 8 during Sisi’s inauguration ceremony.
Suzanne Thabet, the wife of former President Hosni Mubarak, chose a similar path in promoting women’s and children’s rights, reading and literacy.
But Thabet, who was also referred to as Suzanne Mubarak, is considered by some to have tarnished the title of First Lady, as she and her family are widely believed to have abused their power.
Her name was often associated with the presumed ascension to president of her son Gamal Mubarak. Claims were made that she was instrumental in grooming “Jimmy” for taking power from his father before the would-be dynasty was overthrown in the 2011 January 25 Revolution.
Following the 2011 Revolution, Naglaa Mahmoud, the wife of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, differed substantially from her predecessors.
Being the first president’s wife in veil, Mahmoud’s outfit was simple and conservative.
In statements after her husband was sworn in on June 30, 2012, Naglaa refused the title of First Lady and preferred to be “First Servant” or “Umm Ahmed” (meaning the mother of Ahmed, her eldest son).
Naglaa did not have an influential role during her husband’s short rule, which ended on July 3, 2013.
Following Sisi’s inauguration, the First Lady title went automatically to his wife Amer, whose future role is still a mystery and unpredictable.
She has had few public appearances, but appeared in a simple traditional veil beside her husband and her children during inauguration ceremonies.
She may become the modest, quite image of Kazim, whose husband is frequently likened to Sisi, or she could adopt a more vocal and active role in social and public discourse. Perhaps it will be none of the above, and Amer will chart her own course as Egypt’s latest first lady.