When the current school year started a couple of months ago here in Egypt, some students were surprisingly excited about it. For Nada, a 7th grade student, this school year would bring its own surprises, as she was repeatedly asked by the school administration to wear the school uniform “properly” – that is, to wear […]

It is no secret that sexual harassment is a very dangerous phenomenon in Egypt streets. What is striking is that it is getting worse, not better. I have been suffering from street sexual harassment for years, and wrote 2 years ago that I no longer had any tolerance for it. I described how I would […]

Now that Ramadan is over, I can get it out of my mind and scream hard on how women were portrayed in the Egyptian TV throughout the whole month. Women are seen as sex objects: there’s no better way to put it than this cliché; it is as simple, as shallow, and as degrading as […]

Previously, I told you about Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt in a general way. Now I’m going to tell more personal details about what Ramadan is to me. This year it is very different, since it’s my first Ramadan as a married woman. Yes it’s exciting and nice to be married, but let’s call a spade […]

Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt is always special in its very traditional way. You wait for the Lunar confirmation that next day is first day of Ramadan, then you hear the Taraweeh Prayer calls in all mosques. A few hours later, the first Sohour begins, with a special guy (we call him “Messaharati”) banging on a […]

During the Egyptian elections campaigning, women were, of course, targeted by those looking for votes. Akher Kalam – “Final Words” – is one of the most viewed TV talk shows in Egypt.  As with most Egyptian media outlets lately, it has been paying much attention to the elections, and its coverage of women’s issues in […]

Last month, Egyptian journalist Dalia Rabie had an enlightening experience when she was banned from joining her own birthday party at one of Cairo’s fancy restaurants, L’Aubergine. Rabie relates that the guy standing on the door who stopped her asked her if the fact that she is – unfortunately – wearing hijab was mentioned prior […]

Just a month ago, here on MMW, I tried to highlight the fact that mainstream media was focusing on Islamists’ statements regarding what women wear, while, in fact, what was even more dangerous was their vision regarding women and child law. I referred in that article to quotations from Dr. Manal Abul-Hassan about allowing female […]

Shortly after the results of the first stage of the Egyptian parliament elections, everyone started to freak out.  After the majority win of Islamist parties Al-Nahda party in Tunisia and the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in Egypt, memories from Sudan in 1989, Gaza in 2006, and, most importantly, Iran in 1979 came to mind. […]

Women in the Egyptian revolution have been a great source of international attention and appreciation. It is when women participate that you truly can call it a “people’s” revolution. When the news started to come out about the elections for the Revolutionary Parliament, everyone looked closely for women’s participation; women candidates, women voters, women section […]