A veteran Egyptian Islamic scholar and writer, Dr Aisha Abd el Rahman, has died of a stroke in Cairo.

She was in her mid-eighties.

Mrs Rahman was only the second woman to write for the Egyptian daily "Al Ahram" newspaper, and did so under the pen name "Daughter of the Shore".

She also championed women's rights within Islam, fighting among other things for the right of women to keep wearing the Hijab or veil despite secular and modernising trends in Egypt.

Her writings on Islamic law earned her widespread recognition and she won a number of awards, including the King Feisal award for serving Islam.