Nasser, Tahia (1923–)
Nasser, Tahia (1923–)
First lady of Egypt. Name variations: Tahia Kazem. Born Tahia Mahmoud Kazem in 1923 in Cairo, Egypt; dau. of a successful merchant; attended a French preparatory school in Cairo; m. Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918–1970, military officer and later president of Egypt from 1956 to 1970), 1944; children: daughters Hoda Nasser (b. 1946) and Mona Nasser (b. 1947); sons Khaled Nasser (b. 1949), Abdel-Hamik Nasser (b. 1951), and Hakim Amer Nasser (b. 1953).
Became first lady of Egypt (1956) and voted in elections regularly after Egyptian women were given the right to vote that year; seldom attended public functions and appeared in few official photographs; shopped in local stores, attended opera, and sipped coffee in cafés without being recognized, enjoying a personal freedom known by few wives of national leaders in 20th century.
See also Women in World History.