I asked my sister to get me this book from Egypt when she was coming because I had read a couple of reviews and was interested in what she had to say. I am always interested when young Egyptian female writers get published. I’ve always thought that the younger generations have lots of things to say especially the women. Amy, a senior editor at Enigma wrote a column that became a book.
I was sort of surprised that the book was only 94 pages, to me that’s more of a booklet, it is shorter than our washing machine manual. Nevertheless I read it all in a couple of hourse. It has been called Cairo’s “Sex and the City”, but I have to disagree. The book is about Amy’s trials at dating, Amy having to deal with what she calls Cairo’s elite society and Amy’s writer’s block. To be fair, the book was funny, light and entertaining but has no depth whatsoever. I always hope that once I put a book down it leaves a lingering aftertaste in my brain that I can think about. Once you put it down it is over. Again, to be fair her writing style is funny and very personal and you can clearly see her character and soul in it and you sort of feel that she must be a fun bubbly character you would enjoy having coffee with. It is more like a diary than a book.
So if you are looking for something to read at the beach or perhaps on a train ride then this might interest you. If on the other hand you were expecting deeper insights into Egypt’s society than go look someplace else.
I was thinking and just decided to post this as a rant. I was thinking about women’s issues in general because of the Kolena Layla campaign (if I can call it that). I love empowered women. I tried to start blogging about great examples of Egyptian women a while back and got stuck. I still manage to find examples which still make me proud even if it is for simpler reasons (like businesses or bloggerettes turned authors). Is it because there are not a lot of examples? or is perhaps because they are not celebrated as much? I know think more about women’s rights, education, health and general well being now that I have a girl of my own.
I was very lucky to have been blessed with an amazing set of parents who thought that we could do or be whatever we wanted as long as it wasn’t harram. Their line was drawn there and only there. It is hard to argue with religion because those kind of values do not budge when society does. They taught us (I have a super younger sister too) that we could think for ourselves.
It is all about mindset, beleifs and the basic idea that we have rights, even if they are very simple ones. It is all about teaching girls to be balanced, strong individuals. The media is not helping either, and this is confusing girls.
Even girls who do have a choice are confused. Do they want to be successful? Should they look like super models? Should they get married or follow their dreams? Do they want to have kids right away or do they want to wait? Do they want to stand out as innovators, leaders, inventors and owners? Do they want to follow?
There are so many forms of abuse against women in Egypt and the Arabic world. I know that there is also alot of inequality and unfairness towards women, but I think physical abuse or even emotional abuse should be dealt with first. When a husband beats his wife because “he is the man” it crushes her soul and it sets the worst kind of example for their children. The boys learn that this is acceptable behaviour and the girls expect this to happen to them and learn to accept it too. When a man verbally abuses his wife to make himself feel better he is just proving that he is a “small” man. When a father differentiates between his children because of their gender he is setting the ground for larger problems. From a religous standpoint this is harram, we are all equal and we all deserve respect.
This is just off the top of my head to start off the topic of supporting this year’s “Kolena Layla” blog action day.
For more info head over to the blog or send them an email.
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The amount of young women starting up their own creative business endeavours makes me proud. I am what you could call a simple feminist. I am all for girl power, equal rights and strong women but with good traditional family values. I love that these women are creative. I love that they have passion for what they are making and that they are selling it. I am seeing groups popping up on facebook every day by women selling jewelry, accessories and home accessories that they have made themselves. I am also seeing lots of women who are selling clothes that have been bought in from abroad. Although I am more proud of the women selling their own handmade goods because I think this is better for the economy and overall future of the country because it creates pride in Egyptian goods and should eventually create a productive society instead of a consuming one.
Here are some of the great examples that are on facebook:
Personalized Accessories I just wish that they could come up with a catchy name like their lovely pendants and rings.
Any of these products would make a lovely gift. Most of these artists offer personalization and special orders. I also find prices amazingly fair and affordable. If you have this kind of talent you really need to be out there making your stuff and selling it.
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A friend of mine commented about the girl effect post and told me that it was sexist. Being forever in search of the truth and fairness I took the comment to heart and thought about it. Was it really sexist to beleive that girls were the solution to the world’s problems? So in my defense here are the reasons why I think girls really are the solution.
Girls already make up half of the world’s population. They are daughters, sisters and eventually become mothers. When they are just daughters they can help their parents and when they become wives and mothers they help in their own household. Their help might be just by helping in the house or as far as adding a second income to the house or maybe even being the sole breadwinner of the family.
Grameen Bank‘s statistics (based on Nobel laureate Mohamed Yunus‘s idea of microfinancing) shows that 97% of their clients are women. Maybe this is because women need the money more or because they have more drive or motivation to making their lives better. Either way this just proves that investing in a girl does matter.
From the girl effect’s fact sheet, the statistics also show that:
When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40 percent for a man. I find this statistic interesting because I am wondering where does the rest of the man’s money go if he is the head of a family. If he has not yet married or had children then I might understand. I will try to find out more.
The total global population of girls ages 10 to 24—already the largest in history—is expected to peak in the next decade. That’s alot of girls out there.
Out of the world’s 130 million out-of-school youth, 70 percent are girls. So compared to boys they really do need some extra help.
Research in developing countries has shown a consistent relationship between better infant and child health and higher levels of schooling among mothers. This one proves that after all men benefit from this investment.
Medical complications from pregnancy are the leading cause of death among girls ages 15 to 19 worldwide. Compared with women ages 20 to 24, girls ages 10 to 14 are five times more likely to die from childbirth, and girls 15 to 19 are up to twice as likely, worldwide. Men don’t have to go through childbirth and trust me, if they tried they would all become die hard feminists.
I probably am a bit on the sexist side, what can I say, I am a girl, I have a daughter of my own and tend to think we have it slightly tougher than men, and can’t help but pick a side.
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Last week I went to Cairo for a short weekend trip and stopped at On the Run, a little green book with a white bride caught my eye and I bought it. Titled “Ana 3ayza atgawez” meaning I want to get married, the book is the funny stories that Ghada has been through meeting different potential grooms. I had no idea that the book was originally a blog, my husband pointed that fact to me and then my mother. Obviously the book was all over the news and I was just the last to know. I went out and got the other two books in the series by Shourouk publishing “Orz Belanaban lesha5sein” and “Ama hazihi faraksati ana” and was definitely impressed.
I’ve always thought that the blogging medium is a superb outlet for young Egyptians especially girls because it was a place where they could write, be creative and let it all out.
I instantly fell in love with (3ayza atgawez). Ghada’s style is hilarious, the stories are just so Egyptian and everything about the book is fresh and refreshing.
Orz Bellaban, is more about little stories that Rehab writes. Some are sad, some are funny and some are on the verge of crazy, but all of them grouped together point out very clearly that Rehab is talented and definitely on her way to a literary future.
The shortest book and in my view the simplest is Ama Hazihi faraksati Ana. Simple it might be but, shallow it is not, the book has lots of depth and is very easy to relate to, or maybe I related to it on a very strong level. Ghada (a different one) is obviously a very down to earth girl who’s head lives in the real world but has a very romantic heart.
Apparently the blogging trend is here to stay so definitely kudos girls!
I just read Persepolis: The story of a child and The story of a return, by Marjane Satrapi the Iranian Author/Artist. I am not sure if author is the right words here because the books are more of a graphic novel than a book. In just black and white graphics Satrapi tells her story of childhood through the Iranian revolution, the Iran-Iraq war and going to school in Austria and the coming back to Iran and doing the rest of her growing up.
It was enjoyable to read and it was a different perspective on Iran, women there, the Iran-Iraq war and the Iranian revolution. Probably becuse in the first book you feel like you are experiencing it through the eyes of a child and then a turmoiled troubled teenager in a strange land all by her self. In the sequel, you can sort of sense the growing up that has happened and is happening to the author along the pages.
The story was adapted into a movie last year using Satrapi’s signature graphic style. I haven’t seen it but I am hoping to see it soon. The Iranian government aren’t very happy with it and complained to the French Embassy.
Here is a clip from the movie.
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The book is fun to read, because it is more like a story of B.J.’s (as her friends call her in the book) journey to these countries. She has been to most of them before and is revisiting and also tells of how things have changed. She is neither judgmental of the culture nor completely unbiased which makes the reading even more fun and relaxed.
“‘Hub’ is love, ‘ishq’ is love that entwines two people together, ‘shaghaf’ is love that nests in the chambers of the heart, ‘hayam’ is love that wanders the earth, ‘teeh’ is love in which you loose yourself, ‘walah’ is love that carries sorrow with it, ‘sababah’ is love that exudes from your pores, ‘hawa’ is love that shares its name with ‘air’ and ‘falling’, ‘gharam’ is love that is willing to pay the price.”
I just finished reading the book and was sad to see it come to an end. Although from the excerpt it might seem that it was a soppy love story but this is so far from the truth. It is an amazing saga of several generations with a historical backdrop of Egypt at the beginning and end of the century. The characters were so entertaining and their lives were like windows into that era. I had previously read “In the Eye of The Sun” by the same author which I also loved but did not grab me like this one. Perhaps the reason why I enjoyed the book so much was because it transported me to a time in Egypt when things were so much better yet so much worse, a time when people had political aspirations and the will and drive to fight for their rights, like universities, women’s education and independence. It might seem weird that I mention independence last but I truly believe that when a nation is educated its independence becomes and inevitability.
As for the above excerpt, it truly is amazing to look at Arabic from the point of view of a non-Arabic speaker. I had always wondered why we only have one word in Arabic which we use interchangeably for love and like but I realized now that we have so many more versions of “love” than I had previously though. Arabic is truly poetic and romantic yet at the same time it is timeless and strong.
: The story of a child and The story of a return, by Marjane Satrapi the Iranian Author/Artist. I am not sure if author is the right words here because the books are more of a graphic novel than a book. In just black and white graphics Satrapi tells her story of childhood through the Iranian revolution, the Iran-Iraq war and going to school in Austria and the coming back to Iran and doing the rest of her growing up.
