Jehan Sadat: Egypt's first lady who transformed women's rights

Jehan Sadat was sitting in the stands, just a few metres away from her husband, when gunmen opened fire at a military parade in Cairo.

Her life partner, Anwar - then president of Egypt - was hit by several bullets and died two hours later in hospital. It was 6 October 1981, and Jehan's decade-long spell as Egypt's first lady came to an abrupt halt.

Jehan, who has died at the age of 88, spent most of her life dedicated to promoting social justice and female empowerment in Egypt, and continued to do so decades after her husband's very public assassination.

"She led change and inspired generations to come," says Noha Bakr, a political studies affiliate professor at the American University of Cairo.