News | Presentations and Awards |

The recipient of The Stig Dagerman Award 2012 is Nawal El Saadawi, Egyptian writer, doctor and activist.

The prize ceremony will take place at Stora Hallen, Laxön in Älvkarleby, Sweden, Saturday the 19^th of May at 1 p m. After the actual prize ceremony, conducted by the prize jury chair Arne Ruth and René Dagerman, the gates of the water reservoir of the water energy plant nearby will be opened, symbolizing the freedom of speech. After this, there will be a programme about Nawal El Saadawi's work in Stora Hallen, where her literature, activism and feminism will be focused.

The Stig Dagerman Prize /Stig Dagermanpriset/ is a Swedish award given since 1996 by The Stig Dagerman Society and the municipality Älvkarleby, situated 160 km north of Stockholm on the east coast. The prize is named in honour of Swedish author Stig Dagerman (1923-1954). The award is given to a person who, or an organization that, in the spirit of Dagerman supports the significance and the availability of the free word, the freedom of speech. The prize is inspired by Dagerman's poem En dag om året that sets forward a vision of piece and humanity by imagining one day each year when the world is free from injustice and violence.

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Articles | 2011 Nawal |

[article published April 27th in the Guardian]

What makes revolutionary thought unique is its clarity and dignity, and its clear grasp of freedom and justice: simple, clear words that are understood without the need for any help from elite writers or thinkers.

In the columns of many of Egypt's national newspapers, the same face-lifted, hair-dyed dignitaries who spent years justifying and beautifying the corruption of past rulers still write regularly. They now praise Egypt's revolutionaries just as they once praised Hosni Mubarak and his ministers.

Their words jumble everything, until the truth disappears – the simple, plain truth that the law and the constitution must be fair, and must be applied equally to everyone; that a leader should not be spared a just trial, nor punishment if he is found guilty of killing demonstrators or stealing money, or corruption, or any other charge.

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