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| 1923, March 16 |
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| Establishment of the Egyptian Women's Union by several leading upper-class women, the most prominent among them Huda Sha‘rawi. The organization and its affiliates carried out most of their work in promoting health and education. The Union's leadership called for the reform of marriage and divorce laws, including a ban on polygamy and the abolition of a man's right to a summary divorce. It also demanded that women receive full legal and political equality. | 1 |
| Huda Sha‘rawi drew further attention to herself by publicly unveiling at a Cairo railway station upon her return from a women's conference in Italy. Her act scandalized public opinion. It should be noted, however, that veiling was generally an upper-class practice. For most Egyptian women, her gesture was entirely symbolic. | 2 |
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| April 21 |
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| Proclamation of the Egyptian constitution. Egypt became a monarchy equipped with a bicameral legislature. Power was officially shared between the king and the cabinet, but British influence remained substantial. Although the form of government was parliamentary, the king appointed the cabinets and scheduled the elections. In the coming years, the king often abused this power by dismissing popularly elected governments and installing minority cabinets to rule until new elections were unavoidable. Behind the scenes, the British usually encouraged the king in these intrigues, especially in thwarting the designs of the Wafd. | 3 |
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| Sept. 15 |
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| Death of Sayyid Darwish (b. 1892), one of the leading Egyptian musical figures in modern times. In his short career he composed dozens of songs that portrayed the experiences of ordinary people and have remained part of the musical lore of the region. | 4 |
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| Sept. 27 |
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| In the first elections held under the new constitution, the Wafd Party scored an overwhelming victory. Sa‘d Zaghlul became the first prime minister in Jan. 1924. | 5 |
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