#intimacy
"You are not allowed to do this here," boomed a slightly underweight and frail-looking security guard at a shopping center in Cairo shortly as I broke away from hugging a female friend good bye. My 14-year-old self's first response, after having read news of arrests due to public displays of affection, was "Hugging is okay. Kissing is not!" The confused security guard looked me in the eye and slowly walked away, unsure what to make of my awkward response. Seven…