Faten Hamama – the icon, the lady, the star, and the epitome of elegance and grace. She is not just one of the most famous actresses in Egyptian and Arab cinema, but also a strong advocate of women’s rights. Hamama made her first screen debut in 1939 in the film Yawm Said, after winning a children’s beauty pageant in Egypt and was taken by her father to the director Mohammed Karim who was looking for a young female child to play aside famous actor and musician Mohamed Abdel Wahab. After her role in the film, people called her “Egypt’s own Shirley Temple”. Later, she also became an icon of Egypt’s gender struggles and feminism during her time. Here are the five prominent ones: 1. THE OPEN DOOR (AL BAB AL MAFTOUH) In this 1963 film, the female lead (Laila) played by Hamama is shown to be a growing independent woman who goes against society’s norms, after rejecting her situation of being stuck in a miserable relationship with her fiancé imposed on her by her patriarchal father. It touches on love, rebellion, and freedom, as she falls in love with a…
