Mozn Hassan

Mozn Hassan (Arabic: مزن حسن; born 1979) is an Egyptian women's rights campaigner. The founder of Nazra for Feminist Studies, she took part in the protests of the Egyptian revolution of 2011 and worked to help those who were sexually assaulted at the time. Since then she successfully campaigned for changes to be made to the Constitution of Egypt and sexual crime laws to safeguard women. Hassan was awarded the Global Fund for Women’s inaugural Charlotte Bunch Human Rights Award in 2013. She also received the Right Livelihood Awards, known as the "alternative Nobel Peace Prize", in 2016. She is currently subject to a travel ban and asset freeze by the Egyptian government for allegedly violating foreign funding laws.

Quotes

• It really feels like recognition, not only for me, but for the team at Nazra and feminists here in Egypt.
  • After receiving the Right Livelihood Award in 2016, Mozn Hassan said the recognition belonged not only to her personally but also to her colleagues at Nazra for Feminist Studies and the wider feminist movement in Egypt.

• Often people don't see the work that feminists do in different places as important.
  • In the same interview, Hassan reflects on the lack of recognition given to feminist activists and explains that international awards help draw attention to their work and the challenges they face.

• The award shows people the struggles faced by feminists in Egypt, especially now in this hard time when we're facing all these obstacles, oppression, and punishment for our work.
  • Hassan explains that international recognition helps highlight the realities of feminist activism in Egypt, where campaigners face legal pressure, travel bans, and other forms of state repression.

• What has Azza done? This indeed is a question I would like to answer.
  • Writing in defence of fellow feminist Azza Soliman, Mozn Hassan introduces her essay by challenging the judicial harassment faced by women human rights defenders in Egypt.

• The escalation of judicial harassment against Azza Soliman triggered many angry, but also surprised, reactions.
  • In the same openDemocracy article, Hassan argues that the prosecution of Azza Soliman represents a broader attack on Egypt's feminist movement and civil society.

• Other people will carry on the work. I know it’s my choice. I have this passion about feminism in my country. I know it sounds cheesy, but there is something about Nazra. It’s not about one person – we’ve really managed to have this collective.
  • After being summoned for investigation in Egypt's NGO foreign funding case, Mozn Hassan stressed that the feminist movement and Nazra for Feminist Studies would continue regardless of what happened to her personally, emphasizing collective leadership over individual recognition.

• Being a feminist is not something bad.
  • Reflecting on the decision to found Nazra for Feminist Studies, Hassan explains that she deliberately embraced the label "feminist" to challenge the negative stereotypes attached to feminism in Egyptian society and to redefine the term for a younger generation.

• I had a black heart. I knew the society is bad with women, and it will not be good soon.
  • In a recorded oral-history interview, Mozn Hassan reflects on the period immediately after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. She explains that, despite hopes for political change, she remained pessimistic about how quickly Egyptian society would improve its treatment of women, which led Nazra for Feminist Studies to establish a programme supporting women human rights defenders.