The British novelist, L. P. Hartley once wrote “the past is another country; they do things differently there.” For the lives of Egypt’s women, this could not seem truer. The public image of Egyptian women has changed dramatically in the past forty years. Last year, Foreign Policy published pictures of Egyptian women in 1959 enjoying the sun and sea at an Alexandria resort. The image would be unrecognisable today. During the 1950s and 1960s, the clothing of choice for urban Egyptian women were miniskirts and short sleeve t-shirts. Alexandria, just like Cairo, has seen much of its quintessential cosmopolitan attributes undermined as a result of growing Islamism, which has manifested in the adoption of women wearing the veil, or hijab.
Some suggest that the phenomenon emerged following Egypt's defeat in the 1967 War, which was a source of humiliation for the country and led many Egyptians to fully embrace Islam as a means of gathering national strength. However, according to the writer Tarek Osman, the popularity of the veil took off during the 1970s and early 1980s, as over three million Egyptians travelled to the Gulf in search of work. On their return, they brought back many of the social customs of the region. Within two decades, the number of women choosing to veil rose from thirty to sixty five percent. Today, according to The New York Times, at least 90 percent of women wear the hijab. Film director Yousri Nasrallah noted that the popularity of the veil was not due to "sudden devoutness among Egyptian women," but to "social and economic pressures buffeting the country."
Nevertheless, the country's elite started to embrace the fashion and some pop stars even sung to encourage women to cover their hair. Egypt was once the "Hollywood of the East," but now many actresses prefer to cover their hair and some now refuse to sing and dance on screen. Actress, Sabreen, who played the legendary singer Om Khaltum, gave up acting after choosing to wear the veil. Currently, a new satellite channel called Marya is running test transmissions, and is staffed entirely by women wearing the niqab. The channel has been criticized by other media figures, who are unhappy with the idea of not knowing who is talking to them from behind the veil.
Some argue that the veil offers Egyptian women protection and liberates them from unwanted attention. However, even though more women are dressing more conservatively, sexual harassment remains a daily affliction for many women. The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights found in 2008 that at least 83 percent of Egyptian women were subjected to some form of sexual harassment, and two thirds of men admitted to harassing women. The problem appears to have worsened since the start of the uprising. It does not help that some Muslim Brotherhood deputies such as Azza Garraf have blamed women for their exposure to sexual harassment.
It is clear that for some time, a well of support has existed within Egyptian society for keeping women covered. In 2006, Dr. Suad Saleh, a professor of Islamic jurisprudence at al-Azhar University, received numerous death threats after she announced on a TV show that the niqab is not obligatory as “there is no unequivocal text in the Holy Quran that women must cover their faces.” In the past year, Egypt's Salafis have issued a number of edicts affecting women, including prohibiting women from wearing high heels or trousers unless in the company of their husband or a male relative. The presidential candidate, Hazem Saleh Abu Ismail, announced plans that, if elected, he would force women to wear the veil, and said that Islam makes no guarantees for personal freedom. Even the country’s Coptic community has not been impervious to the currents of Islamism. In mid-May, Bishop Bishoy, who is the secretary of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church, recently urged Christian women to dress more modestly by following the example of their Muslim sisters.
However, for the first time in Egypt's modern history, Najla Ali Mahmoud, will be the only first lady to wear the veil. President Mohammed Morsi has stated that he will not enact a law enforcing women to wear the veil. Yet it remains to be seen, who or what in this new Egypt will cultivate the moderation necessary to give women the assurance that their personal choices, especially their attire, will be respected. Egypt is a country that needs to address its societal values, and if the country is to go forward and succeed, it needs to encourage female participation in all aspects of public life. In other words, their visible role should not be subject to conditions.
Emily Boulter is a research assistant in the office of the vice-chair of the foreign affairs committee in the European Parliament in Brussels.
Some suggest that the phenomenon emerged following Egypt's defeat in the 1967 War, which was a source of humiliation for the country and led many Egyptians to fully embrace Islam as a means of gathering national strength. However, according to the writer Tarek Osman, the popularity of the veil took off during the 1970s and early 1980s, as over three million Egyptians travelled to the Gulf in search of work. On their return, they brought back many of the social customs of the region. Within two decades, the number of women choosing to veil rose from thirty to sixty five percent. Today, according to The New York Times, at least 90 percent of women wear the hijab. Film director Yousri Nasrallah noted that the popularity of the veil was not due to "sudden devoutness among Egyptian women," but to "social and economic pressures buffeting the country."
Nevertheless, the country's elite started to embrace the fashion and some pop stars even sung to encourage women to cover their hair. Egypt was once the "Hollywood of the East," but now many actresses prefer to cover their hair and some now refuse to sing and dance on screen. Actress, Sabreen, who played the legendary singer Om Khaltum, gave up acting after choosing to wear the veil. Currently, a new satellite channel called Marya is running test transmissions, and is staffed entirely by women wearing the niqab. The channel has been criticized by other media figures, who are unhappy with the idea of not knowing who is talking to them from behind the veil.
Some argue that the veil offers Egyptian women protection and liberates them from unwanted attention. However, even though more women are dressing more conservatively, sexual harassment remains a daily affliction for many women. The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights found in 2008 that at least 83 percent of Egyptian women were subjected to some form of sexual harassment, and two thirds of men admitted to harassing women. The problem appears to have worsened since the start of the uprising. It does not help that some Muslim Brotherhood deputies such as Azza Garraf have blamed women for their exposure to sexual harassment.
It is clear that for some time, a well of support has existed within Egyptian society for keeping women covered. In 2006, Dr. Suad Saleh, a professor of Islamic jurisprudence at al-Azhar University, received numerous death threats after she announced on a TV show that the niqab is not obligatory as “there is no unequivocal text in the Holy Quran that women must cover their faces.” In the past year, Egypt's Salafis have issued a number of edicts affecting women, including prohibiting women from wearing high heels or trousers unless in the company of their husband or a male relative. The presidential candidate, Hazem Saleh Abu Ismail, announced plans that, if elected, he would force women to wear the veil, and said that Islam makes no guarantees for personal freedom. Even the country’s Coptic community has not been impervious to the currents of Islamism. In mid-May, Bishop Bishoy, who is the secretary of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church, recently urged Christian women to dress more modestly by following the example of their Muslim sisters.
However, for the first time in Egypt's modern history, Najla Ali Mahmoud, will be the only first lady to wear the veil. President Mohammed Morsi has stated that he will not enact a law enforcing women to wear the veil. Yet it remains to be seen, who or what in this new Egypt will cultivate the moderation necessary to give women the assurance that their personal choices, especially their attire, will be respected. Egypt is a country that needs to address its societal values, and if the country is to go forward and succeed, it needs to encourage female participation in all aspects of public life. In other words, their visible role should not be subject to conditions.
Emily Boulter is a research assistant in the office of the vice-chair of the foreign affairs committee in the European Parliament in Brussels.
Emily Boulter’s piece, “The Changing Face of Egyptian Women” makes an interesting claim that growing Islamism in Egypt can be seen through the increased veiling of women. Boulter concludes by addressing the need for moderation in order to “give women the assurance that their personal choices, especially their attire, will be respected.”
While we cannot deny the trend of increasing Egyptian women who are choosing to veil, it is debateable that the trend corresponds with the idea that personal freedoms are withheld. The idea that veiling connotes a lack of freedom is a claim rooted in orientalist thought that ignores the reasoning behind a women’s choice to veil. Muslim women choose to wear the veil for various reasons; some women choose to veil as a sign of religious devotion, while others may choose to veil as a reflection of modesty. However, the key is that it is a women’s personal choice whether to veil or not. In fact, many women find freedom through veiling.
I think that Boulter’s claim that Egypt as a whole—including the Copts–is moving towards Islamism is an exaggeration. I agree that there are certain aspects of Egypt’s culture that are increasingly Islamic, however, it would be presumptuous to use a few outlandish examples to reflect Egyptian society as a whole. As Boulter noted, Marya television station is receiving a lot of criticism from other media figures for the premise of the station, demonstrating that there are many who disagree with this line of thought for a TV station. There seems to be two forces working against each other in Egypt: One is the culture of Islamism as seen through examples such as Marya, while the other is a force of liberalism that criticizes aspects of Islamism and strives towards secularism.
For example, in 2006, the novel-based movie The Yacoubian Building by Alaa al-Aswany, which featured themes of homosexuality, political corruption, and religious extremism, caused a big stir with these two so-called forces in Egypt. Members of the Egyptian parliament sought to censor aspects of the film as it spread obscenity and debauchery throughout the country. Liberal forces, in contrast, seeking to uphold freedom of speech and creativity, fought against this view. It is clear that there are at least two distinct cultural trends in Egypt, not solely one toward Islamism.
I agree that there needs to be a reconsideration of societal values in Egypt; however, these values must address the treatment of women, not merely their mode of dress. There is a growing epidemic of sexual harassment in Egypt. This trend made itself especially visible during the revolution as many women were physically harassed during the protests. Such harassment was aimed at preventing women from participating in the protests, and it worked: A young female protestor, Nana Al Hariri, said to Gulf News, “How many times have I not gone to Tahrir because I don’t want to feel hands all over my thighs?” It is cases such as this that prevents women from participating in public life and curbs their personal freedoms–not the issue of veiling or not veiling.
Women have unfortunately become pawns in the battle between liberalism and Islamism. As the two streams of thought come into conflict, the result is often taken out on women. The stream of liberalism inspires women to protest on the streets of Egypt, while forces of Islamism discourage such participation and leave many women broken and harassed. Egyptian women have become a sort of battleground for these ideologies.
President Morsi now has the opportunity to change the culture of harassment and discrimination toward Egyptian women. Regardless of whether First Lady Najla Ali Mahmoud is veiled or not veiled, the new presidential family should be able to take a stand against the ill-treatment of Egyptian women, for such an initiative crosses the barriers of both Islamism and secularism and fights for the freedom of all women, veiled or not.
The Determined Face of Egyptian Women
Since the start of the Egyptian revolution in January 2011, commentators, international news agencies, development and human rights organizations ask, “Where are the Egyptian women of this revolution?” and “How will the revolution affect their status and rights?” With an increasing worry that the role of Egyptian women will be marginalized, I am frequently asked, “Are you optimistic?”
As an essential element of the Egyptian community that is facing fundamental economic and social hurdles, women face several challenges concerning their social status and their participation. However, women’s issues in Egypt cannot be viewed apart from the general context of a country that is being rebuilt, and its societal values and identity re-polished.
One basic challenge that women in Egypt face today is the fixed roles of women, limiting them only to the private sphere in the family. This both undermines women’s roles as mothers and perpetuates negative societal perceptions of women, neglecting the importance of their participation as active citizens. Such perceptions are mistakenly linked to religion, especially Islam.
Going back to the photos of Egyptian women in the 1950s and 1960s in the media that mostly represent upper middle class and elite urban women, an important question must be answered: Did the “liberal” attire reflect self-empowered, independent, actively participating women with a free will and the freedom to choose their life and career path? After researching how women were represented in the media during this period, in addition to hearing personal experiences of female family members, some of whom lived in Cairo and others in Upper Egypt, and their views of the status of women at that time, I highly doubt that the so-called “liberal” attire of Egyptian women reflected self-empowerment.
Through my daily life, I encounter different examples of Egyptian women. One such example is a civil society worker from Mansoura, and the founder of an organization supporting children, women, and education in a slum. She travels to Cairo weekly to attend workshops and training sessions to be able to lead her organization and deliver its services more effectively. The fact that she is from an Egyptian governorate, is married, is anti-Islamist, and wears the niqab by her own free will does not prevent her from being an agent of change in her local community. This example cannot be generalized, however, it is a case that questions and redefines what it means to be free, liberated, and independent.
Apart from the attire of Egyptian women and classifying them according to it, real challenges face the active role of women in the private and public sphere. The most important of these challenges is education. Egypt’s poor quality education system fails to provide young women with the tools of decision making and critical thinking. In addition, there is a lack of positive female role models who have realized their goals and are effective in their communities, while maintaining a balanced life. There is also an under-representation of women’s efforts through the various stages of Egyptian and Islamic history, although there are plenty of examples that could be mentioned. The representation and depiction of women in the media is no better. In most cases, women are shown as obedient, inferior, and dependent or wealthy, upper class, and culturally westernized. The alternative is rarely depicted: models rejecting or questioning societal values, or even veiled middle class women, though they represent the majority of Egyptian women.
Though religion plays such an important role in Egyptian’s lives, a major misunderstanding concerning women’s status in Islam prevails, with some sayings of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and Quranic teachings taken out of context, generally ignoring the practical reasoning and the essence of Islam. There is an urgent need to revive the values of equality and justice in Islam, especially with the double standards and perceptions of women in the public sphere as inferior, which result in repetitive incidents of sexual harassment, along with other economic and social implications.
Last but not least, there is the challenge of women’s official political representation in political parties, the parliament, and the government, which currently fails to reflect the strong presence of Egyptian women in civil society, grassroots initiatives, and youth movements. In this supposed revolutionary period, Egyptians are living with the last elected Egyptian parliament, containing an Islamist majority, and the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi as president. There is an urgent need for the revision of the status of women, their roles, and the freedoms of civil society in Islamist parties’ agendas, in addition to liberal and civil parties.
Despite all of the previously mentioned challenges and drawbacks facing Egyptian women while Egypt is being rebuilt, my answer to “Are you optimistic!?” is always a confident “Yes.” The main reason behind my answer is the massive energy I sense and see in the determined young Egyptian women who never stop claiming their rights for safe streets and a full revolution, who take part in initiatives and projects for a better tomorrow, who aspire to be successful entrepreneurs and leaders, and who know their important role as active citizens in different fields and as future mothers in a new Egypt.
Rola Tarek is a program executive at the Cairo-based Association for Women Total Advancement and Development (AWTAD), a non-profit organization operating in the fields of economic and professional development, entrepreneurship, and mentoring.