{"id":18202,"date":"2023-02-19T22:39:42","date_gmt":"2023-02-19T20:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=18202"},"modified":"2026-10-08T21:57:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T19:57:20","slug":"%d9%88%d8%b3%d9%88%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%83%d9%81%d8%a7%d8%ad-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a3%d8%ac%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ad%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d8%b3%d8%af%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%84%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/%d9%88%d8%b3%d9%88%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%83%d9%81%d8%a7%d8%ad-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a3%d8%ac%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ad%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d8%b3%d8%af%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%84%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b1\/","title":{"rendered":"Hashtags of the Struggle for Women’s Bodily Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Voices calling for equal rights and opportunities between men and women in Egypt have become louder than ever. Once again, social media provides a platform to express this. The ruling regime, for its part, is reacting to all of this defensively, as usual.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“When I was twenty-two, I watched an animated film on Twitter about the different shapes of the vagina.<\/p>\n

I suddenly realised that I had never looked at my own genitals before. On the other hand, I knew very well what a penis looked like. In my secondary school biology book, there was an illustration of the male genitals, with labels on every part, from the head of the penis to the scrotum. Everything was described precisely.<\/p>\n

As for what was supposed to be an illustration of the female genitals, they put in its place a picture of only the uterus and ovaries. And then, of course, there are the pictures of various male organs that every woman receives in her messages all the time.”<\/p>\n

These were the words of Noura<\/strong>, who works as a doctor in the heart of Cairo. She describes herself as a religious young woman who supports progressivism.<\/p>\n

Like many of her generation, she criticises online the way the regime and large segments of society view her body. “My lack of knowledge about my body is partly due to the shame my mother raised me with as a child. I was not even allowed to look at that area of my body. I was told that I should take my underwear with me to the bathroom, so that after showering I could put it on immediately.”<\/p>\n

Rania, who works as an engineer, also grew up with taboos about her body. “When I was eleven, I went to my mother in a panic, asking why there was blood in my underwear, and she answered: ‘You are a woman now.’ I was then left with many questions spinning in my head. It made me afraid of growing up. I wanted to stay a child forever, and I refused to eat so that my body would not grow. As a result, my periods stopped, and for many years I suffered from eating disorders.”<\/p>\n

Noura believes that if you do not have the opportunity to get to know your body, you lose control over it. “This places responsibility for women’s sexual and reproductive health entirely in the hands of the state and health care specialists.” So it is not surprising that so-called “male guardians” take the place of women in many situations.<\/p>\n

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An Earthquake<\/h2>\n

Over the past two decades, social media has caused a real earthquake in the world of young people.<\/p>\n

There is Nour Emam, the doula who professionally guides women through their pregnancies and debunks the many myths about reproductive and sexual health through her popular platform (This is Mother Being). Accounts such as (Love Matters Arabic) and (The Sex Talk Arabic) also play a pioneering role in this regard.<\/p>\n

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Violence against women is widespread in all its forms.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This has produced a new generation of Egyptians who understand their bodies and want to be able to make their own decisions.<\/p>\n

However, this is not taken for granted in a predominantly conservative country. Although Egypt has a long and rich feminist history, legally, and certainly also in the eyes of a large part of the population, a woman is still the property of her father, husband, brother or even son. Violence against women is widespread in all its forms, from daily sexual harassment on the streets of big cities to the killing of women for rejecting a man in a romantic context.<\/p>\n

Despite the government’s promises, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his harsh regime are unlikely to deliver much. The former army general has a very conservative view of gender roles. Women’s rights activists have been increasingly repressed in recent years. At best, their assets are frozen or they are banned from travelling. At worst, they end up behind bars. But what does the regime really fear from these activists and their feminist ideas?<\/p>\n

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An Outdated Abortion Law<\/h2>\n

Egypt has one of the most unjust abortion laws in the world. For example, abortion is permitted only to save the woman’s life. In all other cases, abortion is an illegal practice, even if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. Anyone who performs an abortion faces a prison sentence of six months to three years, and health care providers who carry out or supervise the procedure are also subject to severe penalties.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:<\/figure>\n

For many years there have been calls to amend the harsh law, which has remained almost unchanged since 1937. These calls went in vain, and nothing changed. But this does not prevent abortions from being widespread in Egypt. Statistics on these procedures are rare, precisely because of religious taboos and criminalisation.<\/p>\n

Almost all of the few available studies point in the same direction: abortion in Egypt is no less common than in other countries where women have the choice to end their pregnancies. A survey conducted by the Cairo Demographic Centre showed that up to a third of the women in a sample of 1,300 women surveyed had actually attempted an abortion. By comparison, in Belgium, one in five women has an abortion in her lifetime.<\/p>\n

“The law does not prevent abortion from happening; it only makes it medically and legally unsafe.” This is the conclusion reached by journalist and activist Ghadeer Ahmed<\/strong>, after recording dozens of abortion stories for the news platform Mada Masr. “Women who want an abortion are subjected to sexual or financial blackmail by doctors, pharmacists or drug dealers who illegally sell the pills that induce abortion.”<\/p>\n

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“The law does not prevent abortion from happening; it only makes it medically and legally unsafe.” Ghadeer Ahmed<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

According to Ghadeer Ahmed, the abortion law has led to collective opposition, especially after the 2011 revolution. “I saw how women began supporting each other in their search for a way to have an abortion. They exchanged with one another the names of doctors and information about medicines, aftercare, money and places to stay during and after the abortion.”<\/p>\n

In one of the stories Ghadeer recorded, a woman talks about how she suddenly discovered at the age of twenty-two that she was pregnant: “There was no time to be shocked, no room to break down. I was pregnant, and I had to deal with the problem immediately.<\/p>\n

My partner and I searched the internet for a suitable way to have an abortion. We found the name of a medicine that induces labour, and we managed to get it. I took the first four doses. I put the pill under my tongue and waited. Nothing happened. Where is the pain? Where are the contractions? I started to panic. Maybe I was one of those women on whom these pills have no effect. I was worried that I would need surgery. I was afraid of the cost of such surgery, that is, if I was lucky enough to find a doctor willing to perform the abortion.”<\/p>\n

The cheaper the abortion, the less safe the procedure, says Ghadeer Ahmed: “Many women cannot afford to go to a private clinic, or do not have the freedom to travel to the city or another neighbourhood to have an abortion. Some women live with their families and do not have a safe place to carry out the procedure using medicines. Not to mention students or women from poor social classes, women who do not have money or the right social connections.”<\/p>\n

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Misinformation<\/h3>\n

In a conversation with MO*, Maria (a pseudonym), a Spanish PhD student in Cairo, shows us a WhatsApp message. Maria was looking for a way to have an abortion in Egypt, and she received this message through an Egyptian friend. It turned out that the message contained a guide explaining step by step how to carry out a so-called kitchen abortion using some medicines. One of the suggested medicines is Methergin, a medicine intended to cause uterine contractions in the case of excessive bleeding after childbirth. The original sender concludes the message saying: “It is safe and its results are guaranteed.”<\/p>\n

Gynaecologist Hussein Gohar shakes his head regretfully when he sees this message. “There is a lot of misinformation circulating on social media. The medical world does not recognise this method of abortion; it is not safe, complications can arise from it, and medical supervision is necessary.”<\/p>\n

In the end, Maria finds a safer alternative. A friend sends her the number of a private clinic. The doctor at this clinic forges the certificates that justify performing an abortion legally. Maria ends up paying EGP 20,000 (about EUR 800) for this medically justified abortion. By comparison, the minimum wage in Egypt today is about EGP 2,700. Clearly, abortion is now available only to a small minority who have the necessary money and the right social connections.<\/p>\n

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The Guardian Who Does Not Want to Sign<\/h2>\n

Dr Noura points to the fact that women barely control their bodies, something whose signs constantly appear in the medical sector.<\/p>\n

In the blink of an eye, she opens the Twitter app on her phone with her thumb and shows us the message that Nevine Shalaby sent to the world in March.<\/p>\n

The well-known Egyptian director expresses her anger at the fate of Mariam, a young woman who has suffered from bleeding and uterine tumours since November 2021. Her uterus therefore had to be removed urgently, but the doctors refused to perform the operation without her husband’s consent, even though the man had been unreachable for several months because of a quarrel between them.<\/p>\n

Director Nevine Shalaby’s tweet ignited public anger, leading to the emergence of the hashtag #Mariams_Body_Is_Her_Right, which spread immediately. Many media stars supported the cause, and in the end a well-connected doctor intervened, considered Mariam’s operation a matter of life or death, and decided to perform it without the husband’s consent.<\/p>\n

A good ending to the story, at least for Mariam. Many other women began telling similar stories in the wake of that tweet. Unfortunately, the endings of these stories were not as good as the ending of Mariam’s story.<\/p>\n

Strikingly, obtaining a male guardian’s permission for an operation such as Mariam’s has no legal basis. According to Noura, doctors follow this policy for fear of legal problems if the operation is performed without the knowledge of the husband or relatives.<\/p>\n

“I know many gynaecologists who are afraid to prescribe vaginal suppositories, fearing that families will sue them for taking away the patient’s virginity.”<\/p>\n

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#Guardianship_Is_My_Right<\/h2>\n

State laws in many areas recognise the authority of male guardians. For example, if a woman wants to buy a house or open a bank account, the so-called personal status laws oblige her to obtain permission from her father, husband, brother or son.<\/p>\n

These laws have been under discussion in Egypt for some time. Everyone has weighed in on the subject, from women’s rights activists to religious scholars; everyone wants to have a say on the matter.<\/p>\n

According to Azza Soliman, lawyer and head of the Centre for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance, the personal status laws date back to the 1920s. “They promote the world’s view of women at that time, and entrench the idea that women are subordinate to men. Women must obey men simply because they have the money and the discernment needed to manage matters related to personal status.”<\/p>\n

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The Egyptian regime tolerates only its own version of feminism
EuroMed Rights<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The government has been promising to amend these laws for years. In March last year, the government finally came up with a new personal status bill, which civil society organisations immediately consigned to the rubbish bin. According to the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights, the new bill barely differs from the old legislation, and even restricts women’s independence further in some of its articles. For example, male guardians are allowed to sign marriage papers on behalf of their female relative, or even to annul her marriage.<\/p>\n

When the bill was leaked, a new hashtag immediately spread on Twitter. Under the title #Guardianship_Is_My_Right, women from all over the country came forward with stories of how such legal and quasi-legal practices had restricted their ability to make decisions for themselves and their children. For example, as a woman travelling alone, you cannot rent a hotel room. A mother also cannot change her child’s school without the father’s signature. The same rules apply in the banking and health sectors. But what if the partners are in conflict? What if the male guardian has travelled abroad? What if he is in prison?<\/p>\n

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Increasing Repression<\/h2>\n

Independent feminists are clearly a thorn in the side of the Egyptian regime.<\/p>\n

Ghadeer Ahmed admits: “When I talk about abortion, I feel afraid.” However, the regime’s growing repression is in stark contrast to the secular, pro-women image that President Sisi has been trying to spread since his appointment in 2014. He has repeatedly expressed his support for Egyptian women and stressed the importance of equal rights for the country’s renaissance.<\/p>\n

According to human rights activists, Sisi’s feminist discourse is no more than a way to consolidate power after the army toppled conservative President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. “The Egyptian regime tolerates only its own version of feminism,” wrote the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EuroMed) on its website. According to EuroMed, the National Council for Women, the government body responsible for empowering women and combating discrimination, provides very limited support to feminist organisations.<\/p>\n

Those who do not conform to the government’s official narrative on women’s rights are silenced, just like other dissenting voices in the country. For example, human rights activist Amal Fathy ended up behind bars after denouncing the authorities’ inaction in combating sexual harassment in a Facebook video.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:<\/figure>\n

In addition, the “TikTok girls” have found a place among the country’s sixty thousand political prisoners. The young social media stars were sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of EGP 300,000 (equivalent to about EUR 15,000).<\/p>\n

What was their crime? Dancing. Dancing which, according to the judge, “had sexual connotations” and therefore threatened “the values of the Egyptian family”.<\/p>\n

The new laws also target civil society organisations: the accounts of many organisations, such as Nazra for Feminist Studies, which is concerned with women’s rights, have been frozen, and their leaders have been banned from travelling. Other activists have ended up behind prison bars.<\/p>\n

In the view of many, the #MeToo campaigns, which caused a great deal of controversy in Egypt, were not bold or strong enough to bring about change. The changes introduced to legislation on sexual harassment, assault and rape were limited.<\/p>\n

On top of all that, the regime considers some of the accused from upper social classes named by the #MeToo campaign to be above the law. Nine men from influential Egyptian families allegedly raped a woman in a hotel, filmed the incident and distributed the video among their acquaintances. Although the Public Prosecutor ordered the arrest of the accused, the police also detained witnesses and other people connected to the case, who were forced to undergo medical examinations, and the police confiscated their phones and laptops.<\/p>\n

Opponents believe that the regime leaves citizens with the impression that anyone who registers as a witness or takes steps to report rape is at risk of arrest. According to Ghadeer Ahmed, the government’s harsh approach against feminists proves that the regime sees feminist ideas as a threat. “A simple example of this: the unjust legislation on abortion and custody. These laws are a way of preserving the social order, because marriage is the only social framework for having children. Marriage means statistics and official reports. In this way, the regime can closely monitor Egyptians’ sexual lives. Do not be fooled: Sisi and those close to him have their own relations with Islamist groups. Therefore, even if Sisi finally reforms the laws concerning women, this will lead to a violent backlash from the Islamists.”<\/p>\n

This article was produced with the support of Fonds Pascal Decroos.<\/em> It was published in MO* and republished in Zawia3 in agreement with the writer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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