Debate: Family Matters

One of the most remarkable aspects of the protests on the Egyptian Tahrir Square was the presence of a large number of women. While facing harassment on a daily basis on the streets of Cairo, women were able to move around freely amongst the protesting crowd on the square. But when these same women stood up for themselves on that same square to demand equal rights during a protest on International Women’s Day (8th of March), they were attacked by an angry male crowd. This illustrates a situation that perpetuates throughout the Arab world: women are welcome to support a political cause, as long as it doesn’t involve their own rights. Despite recent political reforms, women continue to be discriminated against by various laws.

Cinéma Arabe features several films that address some of the limitations women experience on a daily basis. Egyptian Maidens illustrates that unmarried women are second class citizens in Egypt. Sex is a taboo, and even the slightest form of affection must not be shown in public. Women who go out onto the streets on their own, without any male ‘protection’, are seen as easy prey and are intimidated and harassed in all sort of ways. This barbaric fenomenon is addressed in the film 6 7 8 (Six Seven Eight).

While the women in these films were raised with strict traditional values, Transit Cities shows the culture clash that the Jordanese Laila experiences when she returns home after 14 years abroad. During her absence, the influence of Islam on society in her hometown of Amman has grown dramatically, and she feels estranged from her once liberal family. She doesn’t even dare mentioning her recent divorce. Family pressure is also addressed in the short feature film Khouya (My Brother), which portrays three sisters who suffer mentally and physically from the influence of their tyrant brother.

The screening of Egyptian Maidens on Saturday the 28th of May at 13:00hrs at Rialto will be followed by a debate in collaboration with SICA (Dutch Centre for International Cultural Activities) on the dilemma which many women from Arab families face: the difficult choice between loyalty towards the family and the desire for personal freedom. Filmmaker Mohamed Amin and actress Saba Mubarak, starring in Egyptian Maidens, will be in the panel together with writer Naema Tahir, whose latest Dutch novel Bruid van de dood adresses similar topics. The debate will be held in English and will be led by Sanna Andréa-Día.