Nahed Rashad (born Nahed Shawqi Bakir ; 1917 â 1985) was an influential figure during the kingdom of Egypt who became the chief lady-in-waiting and was a member of Iron guard.
Nahed was born in the city of Helwan in 1917. Her father is Dr. Shawqi Bakir, who worked as a professor at the College of Science. Her mother and aunt have been the ladies-in-waiting of Melek Tourhan since 1915. Nahed Rashad often played with Sultan Hussein's daughters in the royal palace. In 1938, Nahed married Yousef Rashad, the son of a former governor and a royal naval physician. They had one daughter and two sons: Alia, Shawqi and Mahmoud.
In 1945 King Farouk made Nahed the lady-in-waiting of Princess Fawzia. He later promoted Nahed to the rank of Chief lady-in-waiting. Nahed accompanied princess Fawzia in all of the events and parties she attended. Nahed also became the lady-in-waiting for Princess Faiza. After the marriage of Fawzia to Ismail chirine, Nahed Rashad remained as a lady-in-waiting in the palace for no queen. During that time she acted as an assistant to king Farouk.
When the Iron guard started recruiting women, Nahed Rashad became the supervisor over them. She became an important member of the Iron guard and had high influence over it.
Nahed Rashad volunteered in the 1948 Palestine war. She received the major rank in the Egyptian military. Al-Musawar magazine published her photo in military uniform on September 24, 1948, under the title: âÂÂThe Egyptian Woman in the Battlefield.â During her time as a volunteer in Palestine war, she started recruiting new members in the Iron Guard.
After 1952 revolution, Nahed Rashad lived a simple life in Hurghada, where she was a housewife and enjoyed cooking fish. After Dr. Youssef Rashad's death in 1971, she moved to an apartment in Dokki, and her eldest son Mahmoud Rashad lived with her.
Nahed contacted Hediya Hanem Barakat, daughter of Bahey El Din Barakat Pasha, the owner of the first home for the elderly in Egypt. She moved there in the early eighties. Nahed later died in 1985.