These three Egyptian directors portray the struggles of Egyptian women in a patriarchal society when navigating love, relationships, marriage and parenthood. Jebel Banat by Sharine Atif Jebel Banat Trailer from Sharine Atif on Vimeo. ‘Jebel Banat’ or ‘Girls of the Mountain’ is a short Egyptian film directed by the Egyptian American director Sharine Atif in 2018. It follows the story of two Bedouin sisters who are in a patriarchal society constrained by androcentrism and tribal traditions. The film won the Student Visionary Award at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival in New York (TFF). It tackles the oppression of women in patriarchal tribal societies and how women reclaim their autonomy by exploring the “sisterhood” bond. ‘Jebel Banat’ was inspired by a legendary tale of 1816. The tale narrates two sisters from a Bedouin tribe who ran way, braided hair together to bind their fate and jumped off the cliff of a mountain to their death to avoid a forced marriage. Fakh by Nada Riyadh Debuting at the 71st edition of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival’s Critics Week, Nada Riyadh’s 20-minute short film ‘Fakh’ or ‘The Trap’ discusses the story of an unmarried…
Google Honors Egyptian Writer Ahmed Khalid Tawfik
Google celebrated the birth anniversary of prominent Egyptian science-fiction writer Ahmed Khaled Tawfik with a Google Doodle. Born in Tanta, Egypt, Tawfik graduated from Tanta University’s medical school in 1985 and received his PhD in 1997. In 1992, he joined the Modern Arab Association publishing company and began writing his first series of novels. His first horror/thriller series was Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa (Beyond nature or “Metaphysics”), which will be produced as a television series by Netflix as announced on May 27th, 2019, with Egyptian producer and Cairo International Film Festival president Mohammed Hefzy and young director Amr Salama. Other prominent works of his is Utopia, a story set in a futuristic and gated community in Egypt where over-privileged kids hunt impoverished “Others”, bringing back limbs as trophies. Tawfik wrote more than 500 books, and had published articles for journals and web-based magazines such as El Destoor and Rewayty. Other works include an Arabic translation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Fight Club, fictional political-minded novel Just Like Icarus and Shabeeb. Tawfik died on April 2, 2018 at El Demerdash Hospital in Cairo, Egypt….
Three Heliopolis Metro Stations to Open Ahead of AFCON
Egypt’s Ministry of Transportation has officially announced the opening of three underground metro stations on June 15 for experimental operations ahead of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON). The three stations, all located in the area of Heliopolis and thus serving the metro’s third line, are of Haroun El Rashid, Alf Maskan and El-Shams Club. It is estimated that the extension of the phase would cover 5.15 km, as per state-owned outlet Al Ahram. The opening of the three stations is aimed at facilitating the transportation of AFCON fans attending the matches namely to Cairo International stadium and El Salam stadium. The third line is one of Cairo’s main mass transit system lines, connecting central Cairo’s Attaba with Heliopolis to the northeast; it aims to fully extend all the way to the northeast, eventually serving Cairo International Airport. Egypt’s metro system is one of the oldest in the Middle East and Africa. It stands as one of Egypt’s most used and affordable means of public transportation as official taxi fares start at EGP 5 while Uber and Careem are considered pricier options. AFCON is taking place on Egyptian soil from…
Remembering Egypt’s Best Historical Moments at the African Cup of Nations
The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations is scheduled to begin on 21 June in Egypt for the first time since 2006, with the opening match to be between Egypt and Zimbabwe. Egypt previously hosted the African Cup of Nations in 1959, 1974, 1986 and 2006, and claimed seven AFCON victories. Here is a look back at Egypt’s record seven championship victories during the African Cup of Nations. 1957: EGYPT VS ETHIOPIA (4-0) The 1957 Africa Cup of Nations was the first edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, with only three participating countries including Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. The football championship of Africa (CAF), and was hosted by Sudan. Egypt beat Ethiopia 4−0 in the final with all four goals scored by El-Diba, who finished the tournament as top scorer with five goals. 1959: EGYPT VS SUDAN (2-1) The 1959 Africa Cup of Nations was the second edition of the Africa Cup of Nations and was hosted and won by the United Arab Republic, a short-lived confederation between Egypt and Syria. Only three teams participated: host team United Arab Republic, Sudan and Ethiopia. United Arab Republic beat Sudan 2−1 in the final match. 1986: EGYPT VS CAMERON (0-0) Pen (5-4) The 1986 Africa Cup of Nations was…
Let us Coptic People Talk about our Apathy Towards Palestinian Solidarity
Aladdin star Mena Massoud’s recent comment about being ignorant of the politics of Israel and Palestine is an opportunity for the whole Coptic community to reflect on our own apathy regarding the suffering of Palestinians. The backlash Massoud’s comments received had many Copts on the defensive, claiming that Coptic people are not brought up with sufficient knowledge about the Israeli occupation in the way Muslims are, especially if raised in the diaspora. Many will argue that this is not true and that most Coptic families are in fact very knowledgeable about the political situation. There are also many Copts involved in activism for Palestine. Nonetheless, Mena’s ignorance on the subject is not uncommon and provides a good opportunity for us to engage more actively as a community with Palestinian solidarity. At the core of this stands the conviction that Palestinians, Muslims and Christians alike, are facing a violent and oppressive apartheid state and need our support. This is a complex issue, as Coptic people are a marginalized community within Egypt and many were offended that fellow Egyptians who are Muslim were calling out Mena – a source of great pride…
Schengen Visa Fees Set to Hike to €80 in January 2020
According to a press release of the EU Council, Schengen Visa fees will increase for 33.3% from 60 euros to 80 euros starting from January 2020. The news, still pending the implementation, is a result of the Schengen Visa code updated by the European Union Council. “To ensure member states can better cover the costs of visa processing without constituting a deterrent for visa applicants, the visa fee will be increased to 80 euros. The regulation also introduces a mechanism for reviewing every three years whether the visa fee should change,” the press release states. The amendments, particularly aimed at nationals from the third country, were made and adopted on June 6 in an attempt to “improve conditions for leg imitate travelers, as well as increase the tools available to respond to the challenges posted by illegal migration”. A hefty sum for Egyptians, the fee will have increased from 1,140 EGP to 1,520 EGP. The Schengen’s visa regulations also double the allocated time of submitting applications for travel up to six months and no later than 15 days prior to the trip. It also hopes to alter the application form…
Foreign University Branches in Egypt: Raising Local Standards or a Form of Neocolonialism?
Back in February 2019, the Egyptian government announced its plan to build eight international universities in the New Administrative Capital by 2020. These ambitious plans coincide with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s decision, officially declared during a national youth conference held at Cairo University in late July 2018, for 2019 to be Egypt’s ‘Year of Education.’ Essentially part of a broader vision to reform the Egyptian educational system, the president proceeded to issue Law No. 162 of 2018, which stipulates that scientifically accredited foreign universities are allowed to establish branches in Egypt with the aim of developing the country’s higher education and scientific research. More generally, this move is perceived to enhance ties and improve exchange between the local education system “and its counterparts in the developed countries,” as reported by Egypt Independent at the time. This apparent surge of foreign or international influence in the sphere of education is, however, not really a new phenomenon in Egypt, nor in other countries across the Global South, for that matter. Foreign Education: Historical Roots The early presence of foreign higher education can be traced back to the colonial period in the…
African Union Suspends Sudan Membership Over Violent Military Crackdown
The African Union has suspended Sudan’s membership over an upsurge of violence in the capital, and warned of further action if power is not transferred to a civilian authority. “The AU Peace and Security Council has with immediate effect suspended the participation of the Republic of Sudan in all AU activities until the effective establishment of a Civilian-led Transitional Authority, as the only way to allow the Sudan to exit from the current crisis,” the AU tweeted on Thursday. Dozens have been killed, with officials putting the figure at 46 while opposition activists say as high as many as 108 people were killed this week. It is the deadliest crackdown incident since veteran President Omar al-Bashir was ousted by the military in April after months of peaceful protests. Talks between opposition activists and the ruling interim military council have also broken down. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it is following with “great concern” the recent developments and their repercussions in Sudan, and is calling on all Sudanese parties involved to exercise restraint and to return to the negotiations and dialogue table in order to achieve…
Five Local Egyptian Fashion Brands You Should Start Supporting
Fashion entrepreneurship has never been entirely novel to our culture. We have all heard stories of our mothers and grandmothers visiting a tailor to design a certain gown or fashion item back in the day. In fact, some of us might have visited tailors ourselves to recreate a specific fashion item or to design our own clothing. Rather than designing fashion for individual consumption, there has been a recent trend towards pursuing fashion design careers and then launching an independent brand. We have heard of big names like Okhtein and Temraza, who serve as iconic aspirations for most local fashion designers and have gained recognition nationally, regionally and globally. Here are a few thriving Egyptian brands that are worth supporting. Amina K View this post on Instagram A post shared by AMINA K. (@aminak_egypt) on May 25, 2019 at 5:11am PDT Founded by Amina Khalil in 2009, Amina K is a local fashion brand inspired by traditional Egyptian fashion. After studying fashion design, Khalil spotted an opportunity in the fashion scene for “ethnic inspired garments” created out of local textiles by Egyptian artisans. Most of the products are…