Earlier this year in July, Egypt’s young and digital savvy feminists took on social media platforms, mainly Instagram and Twitter, to start their very own movement in exposing rapists in their community. In less than a month, they helped push for their arrest, a new law, catch the attention of international media and journalists, and most recently an order by the Public Prosecutor to launch an investigation into the ‘Fairmont crime’. It is easy to dismiss the efforts of these young feminists on Instagram, and brand it as mere ‘emotional outbursts’ or ‘a social media trend’ rather than an organized movement. For older generations, the passion, anger and dedicated activism on social media by these young feminists can seem unexplainable and difficult to comprehend. Yet the impact these young digital feminists had in simply just shaking society’s ground cannot be overlooked. It is interesting to reflect on how today’s young activists parallel to Soad Hosny’s bold ‘young female personality’ in some of her films back in the day. They aren’t just presenting new tactics and tools for other generations to learn from, but are also redefining girlhood – the young…
Redefining Girlhood: From Soad Hosny to Egypt’s Young Instagram Feminists
August 7, 2020
