The popular conception of Islamic society is that women are oppressed and subjugated by men.
I obviously held this misguided view. After all, I was a staunch feminist, and I would not stand for any men – Muslim, Christian, Daoist, what have you – who violates the rights of women.
But as I soon learned upon my arrival in Cairo, not everything is what it appears to the eye. Yes, all women are veiled, but that does not necessarily mean they are subjugated or oppressed by their religion or society.
It turns out that women are pampered and treated like princesses and queens here. From a purely monetary perspective, the bottom line is this: the guy pays for everything, and I mean, everything. From the engagement party to the apartment to the dinners to the taxi rides.
Yeah, life’s pretty good for girls here, if you’re viewing it purely from a material point of view. Therefore, I’m not claiming that women are immune to harassment. Hardly (see previous entry).
So where do women stand in Egypt? I have yet to figure all the contradictions out.
Monday, June 14, 2010
4am Conversation at McDonald’s
I’m turning more and more Egyptian every single day. One way (see previous entry) to tell is my increasingly late nights in Cairo (and eating past midnight). I need to get myself to a gym soon or else you all won’t recognize me when I come back
As the title suggests, I stayed up late in Downtown Cairo with my friend Ahmed. We were chilling at an Egyptian tea house, and we got real hungry. So we went to McD’s and I got a Fillet-O-Fish sandwich. It tasted just like the ones in America. Globalization does have its perks.
While we were waiting for our order, Ahmed bumped into an old acquaintance – a college friend. We were introduced to each other. This college friend of his happens to have a fiancée named Sasha.
We decided to sit together to have our late-night snack, but our meal slowly turned to a two-hour conversation. Sasha was the greatest inspiration to me since…oh, I don’t know, say Jesus. Her life pretty much tells it all.
Sasha is unconventional in every sense. Her mother is some hot shot on Wall Street, while she is the black sheep of the family, as exemplified by her desire to travel and see the world instead of taking on a job at Deutsch Bank. She does not follow rules (see her outfit...ripped leggings and tank top in downtown Cairo), nor is she one who easily backs out of confrontations in order to fight for what she really believes in (one time she got into a nasty argument with Egyptian men for debasing these women, and almost got into a fight with them before her boyfriend – now fiancé – pulled her out). I think Sasha is something that I truly want to be: one who is genuine and one who does not easily compromise her principles.
What is more is that she is the only person I have seen, in my three years since I have been at Cornell, who truly exudes a passion for what she is pursuing in life. Sasha is going to be studying fashion design at Parson’s this September. She is not planning to pursue haute couture after this and earn a big name for herself. All she wants is to channel her love for literature and politics with her passion for creating beautiful pieces of clothing. All out of love for what she is doing.
Sasha is one of the most intelligent people I have met since my three years at college. That is because she knows what life is truly about. It is not about these vain pursuits for wealth, prestige, power, or name. It is about truly living out your passion and your principles.
It’s such fresh and healthy thinking. Why can't there be more Sashas in this world?
As the title suggests, I stayed up late in Downtown Cairo with my friend Ahmed. We were chilling at an Egyptian tea house, and we got real hungry. So we went to McD’s and I got a Fillet-O-Fish sandwich. It tasted just like the ones in America. Globalization does have its perks.
While we were waiting for our order, Ahmed bumped into an old acquaintance – a college friend. We were introduced to each other. This college friend of his happens to have a fiancée named Sasha.
We decided to sit together to have our late-night snack, but our meal slowly turned to a two-hour conversation. Sasha was the greatest inspiration to me since…oh, I don’t know, say Jesus. Her life pretty much tells it all.
Sasha is unconventional in every sense. Her mother is some hot shot on Wall Street, while she is the black sheep of the family, as exemplified by her desire to travel and see the world instead of taking on a job at Deutsch Bank. She does not follow rules (see her outfit...ripped leggings and tank top in downtown Cairo), nor is she one who easily backs out of confrontations in order to fight for what she really believes in (one time she got into a nasty argument with Egyptian men for debasing these women, and almost got into a fight with them before her boyfriend – now fiancé – pulled her out). I think Sasha is something that I truly want to be: one who is genuine and one who does not easily compromise her principles.
What is more is that she is the only person I have seen, in my three years since I have been at Cornell, who truly exudes a passion for what she is pursuing in life. Sasha is going to be studying fashion design at Parson’s this September. She is not planning to pursue haute couture after this and earn a big name for herself. All she wants is to channel her love for literature and politics with her passion for creating beautiful pieces of clothing. All out of love for what she is doing.
Sasha is one of the most intelligent people I have met since my three years at college. That is because she knows what life is truly about. It is not about these vain pursuits for wealth, prestige, power, or name. It is about truly living out your passion and your principles.
It’s such fresh and healthy thinking. Why can't there be more Sashas in this world?
The Top 5 (Bad) Habits of Cairenes
Many thanks to Waleed for putting this list together.
1) Going to sleep no earlier than the crack of dawn. Maas would probably call it an epidemic.
2) Eating past midnight (obesity is definitely a problem in Cairo).
3) Smoking.
4) Idling in tea houses for hours with shisha (or hookah) in hand.
5) Not exercising. But I don’t blame them, given there are virtually no decent public places for sports here. The only places where you can jog/do sports and not get hit by a car are in sporting clubs, which are usually located in upscale (elitist) neighborhoods.
I wonder how all these habits came about?
1) Going to sleep no earlier than the crack of dawn. Maas would probably call it an epidemic.
2) Eating past midnight (obesity is definitely a problem in Cairo).
3) Smoking.
4) Idling in tea houses for hours with shisha (or hookah) in hand.
5) Not exercising. But I don’t blame them, given there are virtually no decent public places for sports here. The only places where you can jog/do sports and not get hit by a car are in sporting clubs, which are usually located in upscale (elitist) neighborhoods.
I wonder how all these habits came about?
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