Sisa Abu Daooh was just 21 and pregnant with a girl when her husband passed away. After giving birth to her daughter, she found herself with no means to support herself and her new born Houda. Coming from a less privileged community, Sisa, 64, faced a culture that considered it a taboo for women to work, particularly in areas requiring labor. To get around this, and to ensure Houda was never hungry, Sisa decided to dress herself up as a man. “So as to protect myself from men and the harshness of their looks and being targeted by them due to traditions, I decided to be a man … and dressed in their clothes and worked alongside them in other villages where no one knows me,” Sisa told Al-Arabiya. On Tuesday, Sisa’s efforts were recognized when Egypt honored her as a model Egyptian woman. The Social Solidarity Directorate of Luxor awarded Sisa the “woman breadwinner” award to recognize her long years of work to provide for her family. During the 46 years in which Sisa wore a traditional loose robe with wide sleeves often worn by Egypt’s rural men, the…
Egyptian Woman Dresses As A Man For 43 Years To Support Her Family
March 18, 2015
