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of mainta ining adequate military
preparedncss .
Consequently. Sadat's recent sur–
prise move against the Soviets has
placed him in a preca rious position .
Bold Move
At the conclusion of a lengthy ad–
dress before Egypt's People's As–
sembly (parliament) on March 14,
Sadat dropped an unexpected
bombshell, dcclaring sternly: "The
Soviet Union is trying to bring us to
our knees. But 1 will get on my
knces before no one but Allah! "
He then demanded that parlia–
ment immediately nullify Egypt's 5-
year-old treaty of friendship and co–
operation with Moscow, which he
disdaining ly tcrmed "a scrap o f
paper." The request was immedi–
ate ly and ove rwhelmingly approved
by the assembly.
Sadat cited Moscow's continuing
failure lo provide promised military
suppo rt - new a rms, aircrafl. and
vital replacement parts - as the pri–
mary reason fo r his action. Pre–
vious ly a heavy supplier of arms to
Egypt, the Kremlin had provided
her with virtually nothing since the
1973 Mideast war, while continuing
to heavily aid Egypt's radica l Arab
rivals. Syria and Libya.
Further attest ing to his resolve to
sever al l military ties to the Krem–
lin, Sadat a lso cance lled vital Soviet
nava l rights in Egyptian po rts.
Kremlin Motives
Sadat's actions clearly caught a n
em barrassed Kremlin off guard.
The Sov iet news agency
Tass
weakly passed off the treaty's can–
ce llation as merely an affirmation of
a relationship which had become
"para lyzed" by Sadat's continuing
unfri endliness. The Kremlin has as–
ser ted that Egypt's huge unpaid
deb t for previously delivered goods
was the ma in reason for Moscow's
slowdown in a rms delivcrics.
Sadat's prívate feelings , however,
more accurately refiect the true siLU–
a tion. He believes tha t Moscow's
de layi ng tactics were designed to
create unrest within Egypt which
the Kremlin hoped wou ld lead to
Sadat's ove rthrow a nd the emer–
gen ce of a mo r e radicaL pro–
Moscow leader. lt is no secret tha t
(Continued on page 4)
The
PLAIN TRUTH
June
1976
THE FIRST LADYOF EGYPT
J
ihan Sadat , wife of the Egyp–
tian president, is a leader in
the struggle for women 's rights
in Egypt. Her efforts and ex–
ample in this regard have done
much to inspire the women of
Egypt to assume a more modern
role in the lite of the country.
The ch ief obstacle in her effort
to effect sweeping changes in
Egypt's laws relating to the fam–
ily and women has been the en–
trenched tradition of centuries.
Women have traditionally played
a secondary role, and wives of
offi cials have gene rally been
shielded from public view.
But from the outset, Mrs. Sadat
and her husband have striven to
change all that. During the first
official presidential reception
soon after Sadat took office in
1970, guests were surprised to
see Mrs. Sadat walking into the
room in front of the president. lf
past custom had been followed,
she wouldn 't have been there at all!
Mrs . Sadat first met her hus–
band - then an officer in the
army - soon after his release
from prison, where he had been
sent as a result of his oppositi on
to the regime of King Farouk.
She became his wife in 1951 ata
time of great upheaval in Egypt
as Sadat, Gamal Abdel Nasser,
and others fought to establish an
independent republic.
Mrs. Sadat' s ove rriding con–
cern is for the needs of her
people. She is the founder of the
Talla Society, designed to help
poor Egyptian villagers rise out
of their centuries-old backward–
ness and develop new skills and
abili ties. She is also the moving
force behind "El Wafa wal Amal "
("Faith and Hope" ) , a program
fo r the rehabili tation of the hand–
icapped and disabled.
In addition, Mrs. Sadat is a
strong supporter of birth control
and is act ive in the family–
planning movement in Egypt.
3