“Growing up, I never had the desire to get married and have kids like other girls. I wanted a partner, but never had the sense that I wanted my own children,” content professional Noha Darwish explains. Darwish, who is 38 years old and has been married for six years, chooses to be childless. Like her, many women in Egypt find themselves combating a stigma and constantly having to justify their stance to others; acquaintances and family members alike. From being told not to even humor the idea so as not to ‘jinx’ their fertility to being called weird and abnormal, they are oftentimes attacked for simply making a personal choice. The Decision to Remain Childless A 2017 US study found that a person’s decision to be voluntarily childless may cause some individuals to feel “morally outraged” due to their belief that parenthood is an essential and moral choice. The participants in the study also believed that the hypothetical childfree individuals in the study were “significantly less fulfilled” than those with children. The same can be said for Egypt, where couples who are childless by choice are met with questions about…
Defying a Culture: The Challenges of Being a Childfree Woman in Egypt
July 26, 2021
