Student, professor, lover, and mother: The many faces of Laila Soueif
Laila Soueif sees no heroism in going on a hunger strike for over 100 days in demand of the release of her son, Alaa Abdel Fattah. Given her lifelong journey of resistance, she considers this simply but another path she has been forced to take. To her, she is only fulfilling her role as another after exhausting all other options.
Laila defines herself as a mathematics professor at the Faculty of Science at Cairo University, mother to Alaa, Mona, and Sanaa, and widow of human rights lawyer Ahmed Seif Al-Islam. Yet, this description barely scratches the surface of her long history of political and social activism, as well as her academic and human rights work.
Since her early days in the student movement of the 1970s, Laila has never abandoned her beliefs or compromised them.
Now 68 years old, the mathematics professor fondly recalls being a dedicated student. "I was the type of student who always attended lectures and studied diligently," she told Al Manassa. "I joined Cairo University in 1973 and leaned towards socialist thoughts, but my top priority was always my studies."
Laila and Seif: College sweethearts
During her university years, Laila joined a group of leftist students and together they founded the Socialist Thought Club. However, this did not affect her studies.
"I rarely spent time in the university cafeteria, which might be why the university informants didn’t profile me," she said, explaining how she managed to avoid arrest during the 1977 protests that led to the pursuit and detention of many student movement leaders.
It was at Cairo university that she met Ahmed Seif Al-Islam Abdel Fattah Hamad, who would later become her lifelong partner. "Until we graduated, Ahmed was just one of the student leaders to me. Our comradship turned into love only after graduation."
As dedicated leftists, neither Laila nor Ahmed were concerned with conventional wedding formalities. "As leftists, we weren’t the type to fuss over furniture or appliances. We just decided to get married. Our families helped us find an apartment and then left us to build our life together," she said, recalling the early days of their marriage.
Daughter of pioneering psychologist Mostafa Soueif and renowned English literature professor Dr. Fatma Moussa, Laila naturally gravitated towards academia. She joined Cairo University’s faculty of science as a teaching assistant, continuing a family legacy of intellectual excellence. Her sister Ahdaf Soueif became also a celebrated novelist and writer.
An early prison encounter
With her iconic simplicity, Laila recalled the early days of her career, "One of us had a stable income, while the other was making ends meet." Reflecting on her husband’s situation at the time, she said, "Seif was trying to get by however he could. He was a political science and economics graduate but had yet to become a lawyer."
"There were no private research centers back then, and graduates of his field had limited options—either academia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. These were all off-limits to Seif as a well-known dissident," she explained.
Leila’s relationship with prisons began in 1983 when Ahmed Seif was arrested in what became known as the Armed Communist Organization case. "They were brutally tortured at the Citadel Prison and forced into making confessions. Some were sentenced to five and others to three years in prison," she recounts.
At that point, Laila took on new responsibilities preparing for prison visits and exchanging messages between inmates and their families who were unable to visit.
Before Seif's conviction, he was released on bail pending trial. "We thought the case was over," Leila recalled. Believing it was behind them, she accepted a scholarship for a PhD in France, only to be shocked when the trial resumed, and the detainees were rearrested.
Under the weight of his first imprisonment and the torture he endured, Seif made the life-altering decision of dedicating himself to human rights and legal defense. Following his sentencing, he pursued a law degree while in prison, while Laila pursued her PhD.
"Ahmed and I had agreed that nothing would interrupt my work. So, I traveled to London with four-year-old Alaa while Mona was still a baby," she said. Laila shuttled between London and Cairo for visits until she completed her PhD and returned to settle in Egypt.
Playing on the courthouse steps
In difficult moments, Laila does not allow emotions to dictate her actions. "In situations like these, I don’t dwell on my feelings—I set them aside. I stay focused on practical tasks. I tell myself: you have a child to care for, a husband in prison to visit, and work to finish," she said.
Seif’s imprisonment gave birth to a new bond between Laila and her son Alaa who accompanied her everywhere. "I struggled with how to explain to him why his father was in prison. So, I trained myself to turn every errand into an adventure. If we had to go to the prosecutor’s office in El-Gabal El-Ahmar, we'd take a microbus and a public bus, then play on the courthouse steps. And God help any officer who objected to Alaa's playing around." Laila was a protective mother and wouldn't let anyone ruin her adventures.
Laila often took Alaa to her university office. "Sometimes, a graduate student would need help reviewing something they don't understand, so I’d bring Alaa along. He would do his homework next to me, and I’d bring toys to keep him occupied until I finished. Then, we’d go home together."
When Seif completed his sentence, he dedicated himself to human rights law, establishing the Hisham Mubarak Law Center in 1999, where he trained generations of human rights lawyers. During this time, he and Laila also welcomed their youngest daughter, Sanaa.
Laila the mother
As if caught in a never-ending cycle, her children grew up, but the prison visits never stopped. In 2014, as Seif passed away, two of his children were behind bars. Sanaa was released soon after, but Alaa remained inside.
He was eventually released, but only to return to prison after a short-lived partial freedom as he was still under strict police surveillance. Once again, Laila resumed her role—not as a wife of a political prisoner, but as a mother fighting for her son.
Being Leila, she refused to accept the injustice. When Alaa completed his most recent sentence on September 30, 2024, she put her entire life on the line for his freedom, going on an indefinite hunger strike in protest against his continued detention despite having served his full sentence.
Khaled Ali, Alaa’s lawyer, previously explained to Al Manassa that Alaa’s case hinges on the authorities' refusal to count his pretrial detention—lasting over two years—as part of his sentence. Instead, they chose to count from the military governor’s officiating of his verdict, effectively prolonging his imprisonment.
Leila followed her husband’s footsteps, striving to balance her family life with public activism. "Seif was a wonderful husband. He never expected me to give up my career. We had agreed that each of us would pursue what we could," she said with gratitude.
Seif was also deeply involved in raising their children. "He loved kids and enjoyed taking care of them. That support was crucial in allowing me to build my academic career," Leila said.
When politics calls
Despite her political interests, Laila chose to focus on two key issues: independence of universities and torture in police stations and prisons. Along with her colleagues at Cairo University, she co-founded the March 9 Movement, committed to ensuring academic institutions remained independent—not just from the government, but from all ideological influences.
She also actively organized protests against police brutality and pushed for trials of perpetrators. However, this did not mean she steered clear of broader political movements. In late 2004, she was among the founders of the Popular Campaign for Change, which emerged just before the famous Kefaya movement, under the slogan "Freedom Now."
Laila insists that neither she nor Seif set out to become political activists. "We found ourselves in this life, so we lived it this way," she said, laughing at the idea that her children’s political engagement was somehow a 'trap' they fell into because of their parents.
"My kids were completely against getting involved in politics. But at some point, the it called them. The last to answer was Sanaa—2011’s revolution pulled her in."
Today, despite the toll of her hunger strike and her age, Leila remains steadfast in her role as a mother. She continues to visit Alaa in prison, preparing food and waiting for hours at the prison gate to see him through a glass partition.
She endures hardship as she always has—through every form of resistance—hoping she will live to see Alaa regain his freedom.