Jehan Safwat Raouf was born in Cairo, Egypt. The daughter of an Egyptian surgeon and English mother, she was raised as a Muslim, but also attended a secondary Christian school for girls in Cairo. Jehan was a teenager when she first met her future husband, Anwar Sadat, who was a local hero for his resistance to British occupation in Egypt and had been imprisoned for his revolutionary views.
Although her parents had some objections to the idea of their daughter marrying a divorced, jobless revolutionary, at sixteen years of age Jehan married Anwar Sadat on May 29, 1949. For over 32 years, Jehan was a supporting wife to her husband, who would go on to become President of Egypt, and the mother of their three daughters and son. As the First Lady of Egypt, Jehan Sadat touched the lives of millions inside her country, served as a role model for Muslim women, and helped change the world’s image of Arab women during the 1970s.
Jehan's quest for knowledge inspired her to earn a Bachelor's in Arabic Language, a Master's in Literature, as well as a Doctorate in 1986 from the Cairo University. She has also been awarded over twenty Honorary Doctorates from universities around the world. Since 1993, she has been a professor teaching international studies and sits as a Senior Fellow with the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland.
Her first book, A Woman of Egypt, recounts her notable life as the First Lady of Egypt and her life and marriage to global peace maker, Anwar Sadat (He was assassinated on October 6, 1981). Jehan Sadat has righteously carried forth his and her messages of peace and world understanding.