Egypt just scored a major literary win—and honestly, it feels huge. Salwa Bakr, one of the most genuine and fearless voices in contemporary Arabic prose, has been awarded the first-ever BRICS Literary Prize. It’s a milestone not only for Egyptian writing but for Arab women’s stories, which Bakr has spent her life championing. Her win in Khabarovsk, Russia, is a reminder that the worlds she writes—raw, tender, defiant—have a place on the global stage.
Salwa Bakr: A Voice for the Marginalized
Born in Cairo in 1949, Bakr built a career around telling the stories society prefers to ignore. With seven short story collections, seven novels, and a play, she shines a spotlight on the overlooked and unheard, especially women navigating the pressures, injustices, and silences of everyday life.
Her background as a film and theatre critic and her time teaching at the American University in Cairo gave her work sharp observation and emotional depth. Internationally, she’s no stranger to recognition—her novel The Man from Bashmour landed on the Arab Writers Union’s list of the 100 Best Arabic Novels, and she has long been celebrated across Europe through translations of her books.
Stories That Refuse to Stay Quiet
Bakr’s writing cuts straight to the realities of women’s lives. The following two stories, from her collection The Wiles of Men and Other Stories, perfectly illustrate this focus.
In her short story “That Beautiful Undiscovered Voice,” she captures the quiet devastation of women being silenced—pushed down, pushed aside, and pushed into invisibility. It’s a story about what happens when society decides a woman’s voice isn’t worth hearing.
Meanwhile, “Thirty-One Beautiful Green Trees” follows a woman’s unraveling, a descent into madness shaped by constant pressure to stay silent, stay small, and stay “appropriate.” Bakr uses these intimate narratives to reveal a broader truth: when society demands silence, something inside eventually breaks.
A Prize With Purpose
The new BRICS Literary Award—founded in 2024—aims to uplift authors whose work reflects the cultural and spiritual values of BRICS nations.
With 27 nominees from Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and the UAE, the competition was anything but small. Bakr’s win, accompanied by one million Russian rubles, a commemorative shield, and a certificate, marks her as a literary voice impossible to ignore.
Organizers say the award hopes to support translations and bring authors like Bakr to new audiences across member states. If anything, it signals that the world is ready to listen.
A Well-Deserved Triumph
Salwa Bakr’s win isn’t just a personal victory—it’s a cultural one. It’s a proud moment for Egypt, for Arab literature, and especially for women whose stories have too often been pushed to the margins. Bakr has spent decades writing those stories back into the center.
WE ALSO SAID: Don’t Miss…Female Egyptian Writers Who Broke Barriers
