Monday, November 26

Sabaya: When Women Discriminate Against Women!

This bomb exploded right in my face when I entered Forsoothsayer's blog. She received a forwaded e-mail advertising Hanan Turk's café. Warning: Don't read on if you have any heart condition or high blood pressure.

Plz forward to girls and women you know might be interested
At last a place where Muslim GIRLZ can hang out

Sabaya is a very nice place . .nice food and drinks . .no music played . .entrance is only allowed for femalesso it's is really safe for montaqebat . .
it's owned by Hanan Tork . . and Ahmad El Sakka's wife ( Mohammad El So3'ayyar's daughter ) . .so . . it's a cafe and hairdresser . . and also they sell mo7aggabat stuff . . praying carpets . . and gifts :))
ALL IN ONE ;)
Address: 6 Meet 3'amr street . . Midan Safir . . Masr El Gedida.if u know the street that has Cook Door / McDonald's / Oriflame /Smiley's ) . . it's behind McDonald's . . when u see McD . . go right. . then left . . Sabaya will be on ur left . . isA
Tel: 2240 2223 - 2240 2229
Advantges of SABAYA café
1- You have the freedom of taking your veil/neqab off.
2- Meeting muslim girls who are willing to get closer to Allah.
3- Increasing your 'so7ba sale7a circle'.
4-Getting the opportuinity of being inspired by real stories by the same girls you meet.
5-You can have parties.
6-Learn how to shun sin...since You won't be exposed to songs or movies JUST CARTOONS AND RELIGIOUS SHOWS.
7- Get to meet Hanan Turk. heheheheheheheheheheheh
8-Enjoy the feeling that you'r making everything which is not allowed outdoors and Allah won't be mad at you :D..

P.S. Attending sabaya will be very useful from both the life and religious prespective, since YOu will be helping in changing the wrong perceptions about both Neqabis/ Hegabis that were already inheritied ages ago. Help in renewing a new age of respectful, effective, lively , happy with their commitment to Islam :) EGYPTIAN LADIES.:) nOthing is impossible.. May Allah grant us His Mercy and sincerity

-- First please Don't invite Christian girls , because they aren'tallowed to the place.. Second inform all your friends that if the number of visitors increased remarkably in the coming year..inshAllah next year they may be able to open a branch in mohandesen or down town ..We ARE IN DIRE NEED OF A PLACE THAT CONTAINS US 'NEQABIS' OR 'HEGABIS' SO PLEASE THINK BEFORE U GO ANYOTHER CAFE ;)

That was the email published by Forsoothsayer. Then I read a post written by Sandmonkey who has asked a female co-worker to call this place and demand whether this was true. The café confirmed all the above information and added that enterance is only allowed to Hejabis and Niqabis (new terms which refer to women wearing veils or niqab). Both bloggers commented thoroughly on this ridiculous new business, so there is no need for me to say any more about it. I would rather try place this example where it belongs in the bigger picture.


The worst kind of discrimination that a woman faces is that which comes from another woman. As human nature goes, women are not all the same. Their inferior social, cultural and financial position, have caused them to split into two separate teams:

1- There are those who look at their current state and wonder why they have to put up with all the injustice and domination. Those could be: a) smart, talent females who were sick of all kinds of obstacles thrown into their way and the heavy pressure imposed on them which threatens to rob them off any advantages their skills allow; b) females who reject their local culture and are rebellious against oriental or conservative traditions; c) very conservative females who enjoy a strong character and who only wish for a limited margin of freedom where they can practice leadership (or let's say exercising their influence).

Women who belong to this team, with all its diversity, are pushing society forward. They all walk in the same direction. Some of them may stop after a few steps, some of them may go too far.. but they are all heading forward and they all desire a change which joins hands with the movement of history.

2- There are those who look at their current state and accept it. They don't feel there is anything wrong with being an inferior, because they were made to believe that this is the law of nature. Those could be: a) educated females who don't have any exceptional qualities or talents, and thus do not have the urge for achieving something on a large scale, being contented with their traditional roles; b) ignorant or semi-educated females who are oblivious of their rights or any alternatives better than what their local community dictates; c) religious extremists who believe that as females they should imitate the early women of faith and stand against all modern claims of liberation or independence.

Again, women who belong to the second team, with all its diversity, are pulling the whole society backwards. They all walk in the same direction. Some of them may stop after a few steps, some of them may go too far.. but they are all heading backwards and they are all against a change which joins hands with the movement of history.

[For those of you who are interested in a more general social analysis, the current scene as described above may appear to be having gaps. You may wish to include men and see where they stand. I tell you that women give birth to men. Even if they don't lead them, there is still an invisible umbilical cord tying them together. Therefore, men are also divided among those two teams, with some variation when it comes to motives and characteristics. Yet at the end, we will be looking at the same scene.]

Now, let me get back to my subject.. Women Against Women.. or call it women against themselves, if you like.. Those two teams (described above) are in constant interaction inside society. Each team affects and is in turn affected by the other. That is the law of nature which exists in all societies. However, what makes the difference between advanced and retarded societies is the quality of interaction taking place within a certain society. In order to measure that, we have to break down the factors which administrate the interaction in question.

Healthy social interactions, especially between opposing groups, have to be governed by tolerance, mutual respect, dialogue, flexibility and acceptance. I don't think you need to read any further to know the result, as there is no surprise involved. Of course when we put female interaction in our society to the test, we'll find out that none of those factors exist. Even when we can catch a rare glimpse of them, we find them practiced by a few individuals, who mainly belong to the first team (those moving forward). But those few incidences do not by any means reflect a general trend, or even that of a limited considerable group of people. And don't forget that the division of teams is not equal. In fact, today's Egypt is witnessing a rapid increase in the number of the second team (those moving backwards) at the expense of the first. This means that the force of those pulling backwards is much greater than the eager attempts of those pushing society forward. The imbalance in this equation along with the absence of a healthy interactive environment put us in a very critical situation. Mmmmmmmm.. I have to say that what takes place between those teams is not interaction at all. Calling it an interaction would be ridiculously false, for these two teams are basically having a clash.

I want to be as objective as you've always found me. Therefore, allow me to say that the case with Egyptian women is devastating! Many of those who are pro-change, in spite of being relatively open-minded and more flexible, find it very hard to live up to their ideals in practice. You can find them rejecting the others, or criticizing their beliefs, or addressing them from above, or making fun of their choices, or acting repulsively towards them, or insulting their brains. I don't understand it!.. This is totally against what they are calling for. How do you expect people to accept you when you are not even willing to view them as equals? How can you possibly convince them with the necessity of change? How is this going to serve your positive aims? I am against women staying at home. I want all women to join the workforce and take an active part in the development of their country. But I have to respect women who willingly chose not to work. I will do my best to present my argument, and if they still are not convinced, then I have to accept them as they are. What good will rejecting them do?

I know that most of you reading this are going like,"Hey, are you really saying that we are the bad guys here? It's all our fault now? We are the ones who have no tolerance?" Before you start throwing empty bottles or anything, let me tell you that I'm not saying that at all. I had to begin with you because you are the ones who are calling for change. Therefore, I can't stop expecting more from you. There should be more patience and a sincere desire for communicating with the Other. They have some excuse if they don't abide by the proper rules of interaction, but what excuse do you have?

It is evident that the major problem lies in the method followed by the second team in its reaction to the first. We're talking massive collision here. Not only don't they have respect for the others, but they also show it with open hostility. Where do I start?.. Shall I recount the details of how they always try to stain the image of free-thinkers and feminists? Or shall I talk about their insistence to summarize women into their physical bodies? Or shall I describe the way by which they associate ethics with clothes? Or shall I be brave enough to say that to them, basically all women who belong to the first team are morally inferior? I really don't want to go through those tragic facts. It is the worst way of rejection. No, it is worse than rejection itself. So.. let me stop here.

The conflict at hand would not be resolved out of its own. We can't wish for a miracle to make it disappear. Part of the solution lies in our hands. Let's create a healthy environment for interaction between those two wings, or else the results will be destructive for everybody. There is nothing wrong with being different. As a matter of fact, there should be difference for life to go on. Difference is an essential part of our existence. But when difference creates a thick wall that separates us and prevents us from having a healthy society, it becomes harmful. We can not wipe away difference from existence.. We can not throw all those who differ with us in the sea.. We have to learn to live together.. I am sorry to use "learn".. I would rather have used "remember", because we actually used to live together, and we actually used to support positive change and progress in spite of our differences. But, since we have lost the tools which enabled us to do this in the past, then we have to learn from the start and create new tools.

As women, we are all second-class. We all sip the bitterness of discrimination and inequality. It is such a shame that instead of joining hands to regain our human condition, we are allowing our differences to blindfold us and distract our efforts away from the main target. It is such a shame to turn against each other and seek to make more divisions. It is such a shame to see women practicing discrimination against other women. It is such a shame when we split into groups and form exclusive clubs. It is such a shame when women seek isolation from other women. And today I publish this pathetic example to ring a bell.. Is there anybody listening?

67 comments:

fully_polynomial said...

while i more or less agree with whats being said here, i would like to pause and note that the number of places in cairo that wont let in higabis/niqabis or whatever the hell they're called are far more than places like the cafe mentioned in this post. no one was really pissed at these places and there was no uproar. what's the difference here?

there is no way around this. people have done and will continue to do this in football, religion, race and what have you. we are tribal and thats just the way it is. accept it and move on.

Anonymous said...

fully..... those places have a dress code... but they dont discriminate based on religion...besides the hejab or niqab are both non egyptian dress being imposed onto egyptian women by certain countries that fund and influence religious institutions in egypt and makes this beduin dress a " religious" obligation.... and anyone who argues this claim is threatened and declared an apostate and it is widely advertised that anyone who kills him will go to heaven!! So if an egyptian person refuses this form of messed up discriminatory dress code, and would rather not be surrounded by it ( especialy since it entails a lot of sacrifices... since they claim music, TV, entertainment, men and women communicating all forbidden!)then these EGYPTIANS have every right to refuse it.... (especialy since religion realy doesnt mention this silly dress code at all, but of course the only reponse you get is that el2ema el arba3a say it is, so you have to submit to their opinion, even though god doesnt say it in the koran!) but if you actually read and understand and use your brain.... the koran doesnt mention hair at all!! anyway, so basicly they allow all religions provided you dress like a normal egyptian.... not a beduin!

However when it comes to SUBAYA ( the U changes the pronunciation to the way they intended it to be) the actually dont want a certain religious group( christians) to enter!!! they want to impose a foreign dress code and a foreign ideology in our country!!! and frankly, enough is enough ( like they say seketnalo dakhal be7omaro) we tolrated this dress code so long, that now they are trying to make it the only acceptable form of dress, and all other unbrainwashed egyptians are wrong and need to dress like beduins too!!! PLUS..... they are trying to devide our country!!!! Religion is between you and god, what a person believes shouldnt exclude him from certain places in his own country!!!! this is the most backward trend ever, and I hope for everyones sake, they make a law against it, and let people live in harmony rather than war.

Unknown said...

Hanan Tork? isn't she the one that was imprisoned for being a prostitute? now she is a preacher? I wonder how much she was paid to do this? "they" used to pay handsomely for dressing actresses a hegab, a nekab or any other piece of shit on their heads... is this a new trend?

See them on:
http://hegab-nekab.blogspot.com/2007/02/blog-post_8577.html

Anonymous said...

that is really very callous of u to say "accept it and move on" fully, u cant be serious!!! that's y egypt is moving backwards, coz of that type of mentality.
and my thoughts exactly hassan! hanan tork is a joke, sorry to say. she suddenly turns into da3iya islamiya coz she started putting on a hijab?? u gotta be kidding me.

Egyptiana Trapped Soul said...

i am still under shock after reading this ad... fantasia, i think i said it before:
"the worst enemy of women, are women themselves"

i am only afraid we would find soon Christian women cafe, and the disease spread so egypt the one homeland turn into different social groups based on religion, gender, governorate, culture, whatever people can come up with

the worst of all is gender and religion

i think we should spread the word and boycott this ugly place... but will it work?

many already believe in this nonsense .... fantasia, u think one day women like us will be called witches and burned in al tahrir square??!!

Fantasia said...

fully polynominal,
welcome to fantasia's world and thanks for adding your thoughts.
allow me to say that i don't know of any places in egypt which ban the enterance of women wearing hijab or niqab. all i know is that they are not allowed by the swimming pool area in some hotels, and i find this logical. so if there is any information that i might be missing please enlighten me.
as for accepting what's going on, relying on the fact that we are tribal.. i totally disagree. not only because this can never be tolerated by any healthy society, but also because we are not tribal by default. egypt has never ever been tribal in its history.. what's taking place nowadays is a cultural invasion coming from the real tribal beduins. therefore, i will never keep my eyes, ears or mouth shut and let it be. as long as i am egyptian, and as long as i care more about my people than those tribal invaders, i will keep fighting against such discriminational features. i can never experience any peace of mind while my country is under attack.. for then i would consider myself a traitor.
as a matter of fact, all those who have reached a high degree of awareness, and all those who are against the tragic changes taking place, yet refuse to condemn such practices openly.. i consider them quitters. they are more dangerous than those who actually go and follow those trends.
silence is a kind of acceptance.. exactly like what they say in marriage proposals (that if the bride doesn't have an answer, it means that she is only shy to declare her approval). i will never be this bride.. it'd better rest inside a grave before i am wedded to this beduin culture.

Fantasia said...

dearesy feminist chic,
what a great comment! yes, thank you.. you said it all. that's not us.. that's not egyptians.. that's not egypt, its people or its culture. why do we have to welcome an outside invader?.. why are we forced to be happy or to shut up? our country was much more beautiful, civilized, moral, and peaceful before all the extra meters of cloth were forced on egyptian women's heads.
i loved the name you gave to this place, "Subaya". it fits perfectly, as this shameful cafe stands mainly as an insult to all human rights and values.. this place is spitting on all those who believe in equality and co-existence.. this place insults our great history and civilization which goes back thousands of years before those beduins were able to figure out how to build a tent!
and yes we should make a fuss about it. we should complain and be heard.. we should stand against those sick mentalities and let them know that our country is not wide open for their harrassments.. even if we did not succeed in banning those places.. it is better to make those people feel uneasy and unwelcomed, than to encourage others to follow their course.
if they have loud voices and they are not ashamed to show off their hatred.. if they have the guts to practice discrimination and segregation in broad daylight.. if they are openlly stamping on our values and dividing our people.. then why should we swallow their shit in silence? why don't we show them our voices? why don't we proudly display our humane ethics and benevolent message? why don't we care enough to protect the vulnerable masses who are being misled to their ditch?
we have to take action.. we have to draw a red line.. we have to disrupt those discriminating scumbags and never allow them to rest among us.
i thank you wholeheartedly and salute altertness.. thanks for reaching out a hand and being a voice for reason and equality.. our collective voices can and will make a difference.. i so much believe in that.

Fantasia said...

dear hassan el helali,
yeah, it is the same person.. though i don't believe that being charged with a crime certifies committing it. her example is so revealing, nontheless, and exposes the horrible degree of duplicity existing in our society.
normally, any woman accused of such a shameful thing is crucified by the conservative masses (which i am against).. even if she is in a position which prevents her from being directly harmed, she is destined to be an outcast, avoided by everyone. (and we're talking about a normal person, whose exposure to the public eye is almost none.).. there is absolutely no way for her to live a normal life or be left alone.. now how about becoming a leader who has followers??!!.. how about becoming a religious preacher??!!.. how about being idealized as the protector of morality and religious dress code??!!.. WTF!! what's going on?.. really i want someone to tell me what's going on. why aren't any of her modern followers questioning their values? are they willing to do the same with anyone else? are they willing to show forgiveness and acceptance to any woman who was falselt accused of this charge? do they really believe that in a few days, a person can jump from social rejection, to spiritual leadership?.. WTF?!!
i'm almost going crazy. somebody heeeeelp!!
thanks for providing this useful link. this is like a complete file for women in show business who wore hijab.. lots of news and analysis. wish everybody reads it and learns something.

Fantasia said...

denial,
thanks for making this point.. seems like only a few can see this joke, though!.. i can't stop babbling "what's up? WTF?" ever since i learned about this thing. i really don't get it! why can't those women see that they're making fun of themselves by following this shit?!!.. is it so hard to reach this conclusion? what's the proper IQ for realizing this hoax?

Fantasia said...

dearest egyptiana,
i totally understand how you feel and the kind of mood you were in while writing your comment. it is so sad, i have to say.. i haven't managed to calm down still.
like you, i keep wondering "what's next?" and it freaks the hell of me.. for instance, i ask "will spreading the word about this place lead to boycotting it or making it more popular?" seems that the kind of mentality which went after this pathetic trend will never understand the harm behind it.. and it also feels at times that most probably as you said we will end up being the witches.
yet, i can't lose hope, egyptiana.. not yet.. not before i am certain that nobody is willing to hear what i have to say.. not before i am sure that people have become hopeless.. i know that i am subjecting myself to lots of trouble by holding firmly to my beliefs. still, there's nothing else i can do.. it is my fate not to sit among the audience. i have to jump on stage and give the lousy actors a hard time.. even if i get kicked afterwards. this is much better than death.. as for me, silence or passivity are equivlent to cold death.
as i told feminist chic: even if we did not succeed in banning those places.. it is better to make those people feel uneasy and unwelcomed, than to encourage others to follow their course.
so let's try, egyptiana.. for trying is the only hope.
all my best regards and appreciation for your concern.

egy anatomist said...

لا أنكر شعوري بالحزن بعد قراءة هذا البوست

ليس لفكرة تخصيص مكان للمنقبات أو المحجبات

وليس لأن غير المسلمات غير مسموح لهن بالمشاركة

وليس لما يعنيه كل ذلك من عودة الطبقية البغيضة بشكل سافر واضح.. طبقية دينية هذه المرة وليست اجتماعية اقتصادية

وليس لأن صاحبة هذه الفكرة فنانة سابقة ممن يفترض فيهن التشبع الداخلي الكامل بروح التسامح والمساواة والعدل وحب الجمال

وليس لأن هذا المشروع يشبه كثيرا نظائره في العربية السعودية حيث يُمنع العازبون من دخول بعض الأماكن في بعض الأيام.. وفي هذه الأيام يُمنع المتزوجون!! فلا يحدث اختلاط أبدا بين متزوج وعازب.. ونفس هذه التفرقة تحدث في المطاعم

وليس لأن المُتَوَهْبِنون والمُتَوَهبنات سيهللون لهذه الفكرة العظيمة.. متعللين بحقوق الإنسان وحقوق المنتقبات

وليس لأنه لم يفكر أحد أن هذا المبدأ يسمح بإقامة مول مسيحي مثلا ممنوع لغير المسيحيات.. أو مول للعرايا والعاريات تماما أو شاطئ لهم.. أو لمحبي ارتداء الشورت! أو عشاق ارتداء الجلاليب البيضاء مثلا أو الفوشيا حتى!! طالما وافقنا على مبدأ التخصيص وحرية كل طائفة في إقامة تجمع حصري لهم

وليس

وليس

وليس

ولكن لأن هذه الحنان تُرك طُلِّقت من زوجها ثلاث أو أربع مرات فيما أتذكر.. وذهبت لمفتي الديار المصرية شخصيا ليحلل لها عودتها إلى زوجها.. ثم تطلقت منه ثانية بسبب كلب أو شئ من هذا القبيل.. ويُجمع كل المصريون على عدم استقرارها النفسي والعاطفي.. وأكاد أقسم أنها ستخلع حجابها قريبا أو بعيدا.. وستُغلق هذا المشروع المسخ.. وسيشعر كثيرون ممن دافعوا عن هذا الشئ بالحرج الشديد والبله اللامتناهي

تحياتي واحترامي

ألِف said...

Down to the paragraph were you say that someone actually called the place and that they confirmed the nature of its business, I was really hoping that you will end up say that it was a hoax.

Too bad to be true.

Dr. Eyad Harfoush said...

Huh, Godness, this is as selly as a discotheque once upon time happened to hold-out veiled women. Why we can never live without thinking how others are formed religion wise? why we are inteolerant for God sake. Huh, Islamic cafe, great, please update me when they launch their 1st Islamic bar offering Alocohol free beer and Saudi Champaign. Bless you dear for the good post, but it is not female-female discrimination dear, it is desertisation of our minds. Greetings

The Alien said...

it is not just discrimination fantasia, what we see here is a result for what is happinging. this is not Egypt, this is coming from outside and we are doing nothing to stop it.

look at Hanan in the two pictures to see what they are doing to us.

Fantasia said...

egy anatomist,
i think that whoever is willing to accept any of the things you listed as not being the reason behind your frustration will not pause to consider the consequences of following such a silly person.. those who already followed her do not bother about her history or background.. they just hail the new devilish invention of an exclusive club for the covered up females, where they can take off their covers.. for it is clear that the idea itself is more about taking off the hijab or niqab than putting it on.
so probably, all those who jumped up and down in excitement at the thought of having this kind of "outlet" are as psychologically and emotionally unstable as this actress. they are birds of the same feather, so of course it is good news for them to find each other and form a madhouse!
the ugliness of the idea is evident to any normal person, including veiled women and those wearing niqab. i am certain that many of them won't agree to visit this place.. and those of them who might be deceived at first and give it a try, will most probably never frequent it. so even if this Turk did not take off her veil, i expect that it won't be long before this place ends up into being a chamber where it belongs.. the lunatic asylum.
thanks for putting all the absurdities of such a place before our eyes. let everybody see what this kind of discrimination looks like and what it can lead to. yet, mad people don't give a damn about their madness, egy anatomist.. they only torture everybody else with it! that's a real-life nightmare.

Fantasia said...

alif,
so sorry to disappoint you.. i myself wish i had been disappointed. it is so hard to imagine that such a mentality could really exist.. yet, truth is always much worse than imagination. turned out there are people who actually did something which is that damn ugly!

Fantasia said...

dr. eyad,
as shocking as it sounds to all people here, we have to admit that there are those who actually welcomed such an idea.. the way our country is heading would probably tempt many gold-diggers to create the craziest forms of businesses and translate this relgious frenzy into cash.. not just any cash, but cash that will end up inside their wallets.
are they wrong in doing so?.. not as long as there are people who will be happy to buy their shit. what can be done when people themselves are asking for more craziness and more desertification? you might think that any wise person, or anyone who has the minimal level of conscience won't allow them to have it.. but we have to admit that there are those who stand at nothing once they smell money coming from a certain direction. the negative influence of their "business" on people, society, or the whole country does not concern them the least.
logically, we can't leave our fates in the hands of business owners and depend on their kindness or sound judgement. where is the state? where are NGOs? where are political parties? where are social activists? where is the notional women council? where is the national council for human rights? where is any formed of organized social movement that would set limits and protect public interest?
where is egypt? i wonder!

Fantasia said...

the alien,
you know what i felt like when i first read about this? i felt like this hanan turk broke into my house, tied me by forced, and circumcised me! nobody can imagine how it feels like.. how it tears me to pieces.. or the lump that i am having in my throat ever since.
what is killing me, is what u said exactly.. my country is open wide to invaders while no one seems to be doing anything to stop them.
all people who commented here share the same feelings more or less.. but the absence of any channels through which we can show our concern in action makes it impossible for us to do something tangible.
i can't sit and watch madame hanan's business while it flourishes and prospers over the dead body of my country and the dignity of its women.. but what can i really do? i write and write and write.. but all people with brains are as tied as i am. on the other hand, all those who have the power to take action are totally careless.. or as a matter of fact, they can't care any less.
i will ask you the same question i asked eyad: where is egypt? where is our egypt?

Anonymous said...

Dearest Fantasia,

Earlier today, I wrote a long-winded response to you which I promptly sent into that cyber never-neverland never to been seen again. Maaleysh. I won't attempt to retrieve my earlier thoughts, but I'll just continue to come in to visit your space with my two-cents if you'll have me.

I have read through almost all of your posts, constantly fighting between reading and responding with the thoughts you have stimulated that zap through my brain like lazers.

First, I must say that you rock!!
I have thought long and hard on many of the topics you tackle. Your thoughts and beautifully arranged words are life-affirming fresh air, sorely needed in Egypt today. Thank you for your continuing efforts.

It is true that women need stand together, not pick each other apart. This is quite the challenge given the divisions in status, class, region, education,politics, religion, personal choice of dress code, and so on.

Here is a thought, not fully-formed yet, but perhaps we can take it and run with it. It seems to me that a medium such as youtube, so effectively applied to treat other malaises in Egypt, can be somehow artfully engaged to raise internal and external, ie. global, awareness of the current state of affairs regarding women in Egypt. Think of juxtaposing 4 or 5 people quoting misogynistic proverbs or folksayings, with English subtitles, followed by a flash of what this looks like in reality. I think shame just might be put to good service if used appropriately.

I also think there is great potential in organized text-messaged flashes, in which a huge number of women gather in one specific place to perform a specific previously-agreed upon innocent yet powerful message-laden action. Of course, this is then taped and broadcast. Just ideas, as I said previously, not fully formed.

Yours,
Raaasa

Anonymous said...

Ok, I've come up with an example of a flash youtube performance. Personally, I'd like to see a video of a hundred women draped in full niqab walk towards the same spot where Huda Sharaawi stood with her famous team of women, simultaneously lift off their coverings to reveal identical t-shirts with the slogan, "Unveil your minds." Does the heart good to imagine this.

Yours,
Raaasa

Fantasia said...

dear raaasa,
was certainly over the moon while reading your comment. thanks for caring to send me those lines which truly lifted up my spirits.. and i am so sorry for any inconvenience which might have met you while trying to publish your first comment. i personally have learned to copy my comments before clicking that damn orange button, only after many sad losses i had experienced. i am blessed that you didn't give up, or i would have missed your wonderful thoughts which are full of enthusiasm and positivism.
i so much appreciate your kind words and the way you feel about my humble attempts through this cosy space on the web.. my efforts only make sense as long as i continue to receive positive feedback and encouragement from concerned readers like you, dear.
i loved all of your ideas and i am so happy to see this desire for active contribution as the one you expressed.. i salute you on drawing our attention to the importance of this virtual tool.. yeah, you're right.. youtube has proven to be a very powerful means of exposure and spreading the word about malpractices worldwide. and i have to admit that it had never occured to me before that we can launch some material with the aim of shaking things a bit.. probably raising awareness about women issues in egypt.
human rights watch reports and statistics of UNESCO are so revealing, yet they don't find their way to the masses. besides, the visual aspect is much more powerful in delivering any message.
in practice, however, filming such material would be almost impossible with all the limitations placed on the freedom of the press and the usual excuse used by security forces to prevent taping anything which exposes negative conditions in egypt.. of course i am refering to the pathetic claim of "harming egypt's reputation". they have even turned this claim into a criminal charge to intimidate all those who wish to film materials with the aim of showing human rights conditions inside our country. and of course you remember the case of howayda taha, who worked for aljazeera, and received a sentence of six months in prison for filming a documentary about police brutal practices in egypt.
in spite of the risky nature of this attempt, yet it should be seriously considered.. it deserves the risk.. and such restrictions shouldn't put us down
thanks, raaasa for your valuable suggestions and looking forward to more interaction with you.

Anonymous said...

just a suggestion, if you think that hundred women together would be impossible, how about each woman alone, with a niqab, all walking... so the picture shifts from one woman to the next, then , a picture of each woman taking it off all standing in the same spot, to reval a different face.... that way it can be filmed without drawing a lot of attention.... ( have you seen the beginning of the show "scrubs"??? where they all walk to put up the xray.... this is what i was thinking of, but in the end, we show each woman quickly taking it off, one after the other....


of course this means that we need volunteers willing to be filmed, and someone who can video tape it in a professional way..... also if there is a way to do it in a studio, then have the images dded behind them, that would work too.... anyway, this is just a thought, cause I agree, the you tube idea is amazing!!!! what do you think??

Anonymous said...

this would be absolutely great if it does pan out! words can only carry us so far, but not far enough. we should put our words into actions to bring us to the next level! im not in egypt right now, but i would like to help in any way i can

Anonymous said...

Ooooh, this is so exciting that a buzz of positive energy has erupted! Thank you, Fantasia, for your warm welcoming response and level-headed reminders of the practicalities at hand.

I am delighted that my suggestions have ignited the creative flame and that we see the potential that is out there. Something good will come from letting the thoughts of possibilities roll around, I am sure of it. As for the realities of production, people, I hope, will do what they can as they can. And really, even if nothing happens of this, these ideas let us celebrate that there is still joy and there is possibility.

Egyptian Feminist Chic, I love your ideas--truly I am delighted to be indulging in the joy of creative and constructive thinking towards a common goal.
Throughout my day, I was dreaming of a campaign, a series if you like, of brief videos ending with the same slogan. Slogan ideas, anyone? Simple yet punchy. I quite like the "Unveil your mind" idea, but I will continue to let my thoughts run free and perhaps something new and sparkly will come.

There are so many possible ways to reinforce the message. I think the first one should have drama and power to truly underline the point and make the slogan memorable. The one of a hundred women, en masse or one by one as EFC suggested, following Huda's footsteps made me swoon with delight just to imagine it. There are several complications, as you have kindly reminded us. Imagine this then, the camera screen fills with a photo of that famous photo of Huda and friends with the date and place captioned at the bottom, picture fades, then zones in on a group of niqabat standing in the same place with the current date and place captioned at the bottom. Close with the slogan, "Unveil your minds" or whatever the repeating slogan will be.

Subsequent ones could be more subtle, like series of close-ups of toys for girls in toy shops, things like those horrible pink plastic vacuum cleaner sets--a crime really. End with the slogan. Another one could take in commoon household items, for example things like Queen rubber gloves, and so on. End with the slogan. These things are colourful,kitsch, and fun so I think they can be artfully used. Too bad the concepts they convey make you want to cry.

Thoughts?

Yours,
Raaasa

Anonymous said...

off subject,but i always thought it was pretty neat, so i though i would share.... my great grand moher was one of the women with hoda sha3rawy when they took off the whole hegab thing.... my grand mother passed away a couple of years ago so i cannot ask her, and I am not in egypt any more.... but i will call a cousin and see if by any chance she has any of the pictures... if indeed they were ever in my great grand mothers posession... I have never actually seen any pictures of that particular event, but I have been to their old house, and seen many family pictures... maybe someone in my family knows... so i'll ask and i'll post them if i find any.

Anonymous said...

here's the link to the scrubs video i mentioned earlier.... check out minute 3:24

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igEkqOuODng&feature=related


this is what i meant by doing it one person at a time!!

Anonymous said...

Very cool, Egyptian Feminist Chic, and completely on the subject. Fantasia had said something about "remembering." I think she was refering to remembering solidarity with other women. In her memoirs she wrote that her position of priviledge enabled her to publicly unveil with her team, enjoying both the publicity and relative safety or security of her class. I think she also mentioned that she was obligated to do it for those who can't--don't quote me on on this as I am not certain, but it sounds vaguely familiar. And still on the topic of to "remembering." A few years ago I was reading an interview with--I am quite sure that it was but still with a wee bit of doubt-- Dora Shafiq who was bemoaning the fact that young women were happily and easily giving up the gains and freedoms that she and her colleagues had fought so hard for before. So true how important remembering is. (a bit funny for me to say with my bad memory, lol.)

Thank you, Egyptian Feminist Chic, for the Scrubs link. Great idea to film individually, possibly with background buzzed in later. Still the difficulty of having individual volunteers remains. How easy do you think that is going to be? I am guessing not too easy.

Thoughts,

Yours,
Raaasa

Anonymous said...

Very cool, Egyptian Feminist Chic, and completely on the subject. Fantasia had said something about "remembering." I think she was refering to remembering solidarity with other women. In her memoirs she wrote that her position of priviledge enabled her to publicly unveil with her team, enjoying both the publicity and relative safety or security of her class. I think she also mentioned that she was obligated to do it for those who can't--don't quote me on on this as I am not certain, but it sounds vaguely familiar. And still on the topic of to "remembering." A few years ago I was reading an interview with--I am quite sure that it was but still with a wee bit of doubt-- Dora Shafiq who was bemoaning the fact that young women were happily and easily giving up the gains and freedoms that she and her colleagues had fought so hard for before. So true how important remembering is. (a bit funny for me to say with my bad memory, lol.)

Thank you, Egyptian Feminist Chic, for the Scrubs link. Great idea to film individually, possibly with background buzzed in later. Still the difficulty of having individual volunteers remains. How easy do you think that is going to be? I am guessing not too easy.

Thoughts,

Yours,
Raaasa

Anonymous said...

Apologies, in refering to "memoirs" in my previous post, I was speaking of Huda Shaarawi, not Fantasia--lol. Sorry for the confusion if any. I tend towards "stream of consciousness" writing and forget sometimes that that I might not be keeping my reader with me for the ride.

yours,
raaasa

Anonymous said...

i was thinking first we need someone willing to do the production and editing... once we get that, then we can look for volunteers .... i was thinking maybe the AUC???? ( some of the students there might also have ideas about people who know how to do this production well)we can put up a massege on the bulletin board... or see if they have any women's student groups.... we can talk to the dean there,explain what we are doing, and ask for permission to recruit volunteers from the students there... or we can just do the bulletin board thing.. but i think a lot of the egyptian girls would be afraid of talking to complete strangers.. at least i know i wouldnt agree to be filmed by strangers... now i am no proffessional when it comes to movie making... but ,maybe we can use (muvee maker) to add the slides and videos to the music, this is if we cant find someone who can do it professionaly. this is something i can help with, since i have the program on my computer...or if someone else wants to do it that would be fine.... we will also have closing credits for anyone who participaed and wants to add their name... but it is purely by choice, if they dont want their name in, it will be fine. and anyone willing to participate can provide input, and ideas will be welcome. and no ones image will be put in if they dont aprove of the final outcome.... meaning, we all agree this is what we want to say, and if you dont like it, you are free to ask for your image to be removed.... and copies will be emailed to all participants once the project is complete, so they will see what we will post before we post it....

how does this sound??? anyone willling to go to te AUC and start recruiting???


Fantasia, what do you think? is this something you would be interestd in doing???

I am not trying to pressure anyone into anything they dont want to do, if anyone here would like to volunteer, i think it is a great idea, but if no one wants... then thats okay, i am merely making suggestions.i know how tight restrictions are in egypt, so if you feel that this is not plausible, then that is fine... but i think it is worth considering.... what do you guys say?

Anonymous said...

funny how evrone live outside egypt and call themselves egyptians. i think "alkhawana" is the proper term 4 that lol!

Anonymous said...

Out of curiosity, anonymous, would you also apply the epithet, alkhawana, to those who absented themselves to go to alkhaleej, or do you use it solely for those who may reside in the west? Do you use it towards those who reside in misr yet strive to take the country a few hundred, if not a thousand years, behind the rest of the globe?

To my mind, the term alkhawana would more accurately be applied to those are careless about the direction that the country, people, and culture that they care about is going, regardless of their own current geographical location.

Thanks for suggesting that I think about this,

Anonymous said...

yes of course i am refering to "egyptians" living in the west. even if they have dual citezenship or what have you,they are no longer misre in my book, they will stab you in teh back.

what you are about to do is careless. do our country a favor and stop this nonsense while you still can.

what you are hoping to achieve is simply for shock value and sensationalsm, nothing more. nothing will come out of it,that i'm sure of lol.


i would rather support my fellow arab bretheren than impose corrupt western ideologies to our culture.


i will no longer respond here because i have said my piece. good luck and hope you will think twice before doing this.

Anonymous said...

anon, you are an idiot!! you have no perception of the world around you..... if egypt had a better economy, no one would leave, and when people leave they go for work.... i dont see how getting a job that pays the bills makes any one a traitor... and what we are discussing here, is because we have all had it with the way egypt is going...economicly, religiously, socialy...etc. and your fellow "arab brethren" are not our "brethren" .... simply because we are not beduins from the arab peninsula, we are egyptians from the land of the nile... major difference!! saying egyptians are arabs because they speak arabic is like saying native american indians are british because they speak english.... it just doesnt make sense! and it is this "arab culture" that is taking our country back a thousand years... can't you see what is going on?

we are not talking corrupt western culture( who are you to make moral judgements about anyone?? what is corrupt? there are no bribes, wasayet,stealing government money etc... why is that corrupt? ).... we are talking attempting to return egypt to being egyptian rather than wahabi beduin.... the wahabi culture has invaded our country, and people like you, who dont know any better, are resisting anyone's attempts to maintain our identity.... be a little open minded and dont believe everything the media tells you... look around at how bad things have gotten, and you'll see why we want the old egypt back! maybe if it was back to normal, we would all go back home and be close to our families! have you ever thought about that??

and for goodness sake, don't call anyone a traitor if you dont know what a traitor is!!

Fantasia said...

dearest egyptian feminist chic,
i wouldn't have expected any less from you.. your dedication and enthusiasm are truly inspiring. why don't we just have enough women like you, dear?
thanks for the idea and for providing the link to show us exactly what you had in mind. i believe this makes the video "doable" although we still got other difficulties to deal with.
yet, as raaasa puts it, the ideas themselves are a celebration of possibilities. i so much believe that we are holding the beginning of a thread that is leading somewhere, very soon.
you must be so proud of your great grandma.. no wonder her grand daughter grew up to be such an exceptional woman. so nice of you to take the initiative of searching through her photos to provide inspiration for many others.. will be looking forward to seeing those.
i said it and i am saying it again: the youtube idea is worth giving it a shot. i am so happy to see all of this excitement being generated among us here. gives me all the reason to have hope and rejoice.. even in the darkest times. thanks, thanks and thanks for that.

Fantasia said...

denial,
thank you wholeheartedly for your warm offer of help. you are right, words can not carry us far enough. we gotta reach out for more than that. and i believe the suggestion at hand is a wonderful start.. of course the credit goes to raaasa. your willingness to take part is greatly appreciated. best regards.

Fantasia said...

dear raaasa,
that buzz is all yours and we should all thank you for sparking our flames here. i can see you are gifted in video directing as well. i just love all of those ideas you came up with.. the slogan is very powerful and catchy too. can't say that i have any other slogans in mind right now, but will work on it.
i agree that the best way to handle such a "campaign", if we might call it, is to start with a relatively long video relying on drama.. this needs much work, as well as money for production.. then we can go for the shorter, easier, and more symbolic.. mind-stirring kinda ads.
and the toy stores.. bingo.. that's a must. i personally find some dolls to be most disturbing as well, in addition to all the examples you mentioned.
will add up my thoughts as soon as anything teases my mind. let's keep the buzz going.. bless you for the amazing idea, dear.
p.s. felt really good that your stream of consciousness suggested my name in that context :)

Fantasia said...

egyptian feminist chic,
yeah.. i totally agree that we should respect the right of volunteers to view the final product before broadcast. as for recruiting AUCians, i don't know how possible this would be.. AUC is not that independent after all.. i remember them allowing security detectives on campus during anti-american student protests. so, i'll check to see what can be done about it.
if that won't do, i can always ask friends to recruit anyone who's interested.
still the production and professional filming are in the way. any suggestions about that?

Fantasia said...

anon,
you really suck big time!! you've been generously served, i see.. so there's no need for me to say any more. your ignorance combined with your rudeness ain't gonna lead you anywhere.. not here, at least. so i gotta encourage you not to come back.. good decision.. probably the best you've ever taken with this kinda mentality.

Fantasia said...

sorry guys,
i noticed this intruding insect too late.. by then you've had already replied. thanks for taking care of him during my brief absence. will do my best so that won't ever happen again. i apologize on behalf of this miserable creature, and i so sorry that you had to witness his pathetic clown-act over here.
all my respect.

على باب الله said...

ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

i am broken .. feeling like we've been plowing in the sea ..

ehhhhhhhhh

cafe sabaya .. is just a business
you know .. rich veiled women and rick monakabat .. they have cash

well .. somebody ought to milk it someway

and that's the role of sabaya

milk'em guys .. fat buttomed girls with tiny heads and baggy dark outfit

give'em what they want .. some relegion mixed up with some elegance ..

relegious programs on t.v. and caffee american flavoured with hazelnuts ..

the poor girls just can't say NO to that mix ..

--

christian women are not allowed ..

pourquoi ?

maybe cause they're the ancestors of pigs and dogs

like i heard the ( khateeb ) of the mosque say the other day .

---

sometimes i feel that we're unwanted

unloved .. and unwanted

and i don't even know why ?

---

i admire your fighting spirit

i wish there were more like you

swimming with the tide is much easier than swimming aginst it

most of them chose the easy way

may god be with those who swim the other way

---

may god be with you

Fantasia said...

ala bab allah,
maybe you'd think i'm exaggerating when i tell you that tears formed in my eyes while reading your comment.. there would come a day when that khateeb you heard insulting followers of other religions will find out who is the descendent of pigs.. so bad that he won't come back to share his discovery with us.. but you should only pity someone who spent his life fighting for spreading poisonous ideas, believing that this should please his God in some way! that's how i always feel while hearing any of this.
please don't say that sometimes you feel that you're unwanted
and unloved.. those sick ideas are not the tide, and those who believe in them are so very few. the majority of egyptians love you and want you.. they are willing to join hands with you and support u in way you can never imagine.. that is the real tide.. even if it is a silent tide.. i am merely a single vocal wave, trying to be their mouthpiece.
this psycho spot under the business name of Sabaya is mainly an attempt to draw a line seperating muslim women who cover up from those who don't.. not allowing christian girls is just an inevitable consequence.. they can't ban us on religious basis, while allow others from outside this religion. so christian females are not the target of discrimination here.. it's us.. muslim females who have committed the horrible crime of not being fully submissive to the wahhabi invasion.
this is the way they guarantee the cash will be flowing in.. they are milking women who wish to feel superior to us in real life.. women who are suffering under the heat in all those layers of cloth, seeking to be morally superior.. but at the same time fail to find this kind of imaginary superiority in real life, where all women are mixed together, and where muslim unveiled women may very well receive appreciation, respect, success, or enjoy some advantages due to their relative freedom.
i hear those women, almost on a weekly basis, complaining to some sheikh on tv.. the only question they ask is "how can a woman who lived all her life revealing her hair become my equal in paradise just because she wore the veil at an old age?"
imagine this kind of thinking.. imagine this kind of psychological structure.. those are apparently women who consider the veil as a tax paid in advance in order to guarantee entering the pearly gates!
so relax.. christian women are blessed not to have such divisions among them. it is muslim females' battle to triumph for the real spirit of their religion.
muslim women are being made use of in an ugly political game. their bodies are used as ad signs, a way to enforcing a political message. behind their black outfits, those women are unable to see this. if they are ready to discriminate against women of their own country, of their own blood, of their own religion.. then something is wrong with them as humans.. if they are willing to stick it on religion, then they are disgracing their religion.
as muslim egyptian women, it becomes our duty to bring this group back to their senses.. but first, we need all egyptians to help us wake those ladies up. it is our common fate.. men and women, muslims and christian.. we don't want the fate of our country to fall into extremist hands.

Anonymous said...

Dear Fantasia,

What a gracious hostess you are! Thank you for your kind words.

Briefly, and this may be uplifting news to spur things along. In three days, I will be attending a workshop with professional filmmakers, specializing in documentaries, videos, and public service announcements. I will question them on the techniques that we have discussed here. Please post any other questions that might come to mind in service of the campaign as I do not have permanent access to these professionals.

Yours,
Raaasa

Fantasia said...

dear raaasa,
that's really great news.. thanks for giving us the chance to inquire about our practical concerns. what i need to know most is how much a short clip like this would cost. also concerning editing.. is there a software that we can download to help us edit those films without seeking professional assistance from a studio. and the last question would be about adding audio. for example, how can we add background music without hiding the voices of the speakers?
please also inquire about any downloadable softwares that might be of use.
thank you so much for your concern. good luck with your workshop.

Anonymous said...

fantasia, i was thinking " muvee maker would work" and adding clips through powerpoint too.... kind of a combination of both.... as for the voice over... i dunno, muvee maker can add a back goround music alone... then we can make a slide with its own voice using power point.... and make the powerpointy voice louder... theretcly, that would work... but we'll have to try it and see....
as for tew volunteers... they are volunteers, so no money there... so all we need is a camcorder... someone who owns one and is willing to use it for the video, then transferring the video ontothe computer... so if this is all done by volunteers, the expenses will be minimal, maybe even nothing, cause this is mainly work... and if no one is getting paid it is free.... am i missing something? what do you think?

egy anatomist said...

اعتقدت أن هذا الخبر المنشور في مجلة روزاليوسف الأسبوعية قد يكون كاشفا لتفاصيل أكثر تخص هذا الموضوع المثير للتقزز والغثيان

تحياتي واحترامي

..

زيارة لمقهى حنان ترك الذى يمنع دخول المسيحيات وغير المحجبات
أسماء نصار


إذا أرادت حنان ترك أن ترتدى الحجاب فلترتده، وإذا أرادت أن تعزل التمثيل فلتفعل، وإذا أرادت أن تستثمر فى مشروع تجارى فلتستثمر ولتبع هى وصديقاتها الأشياء بأضعاف ثمنها الحقيقى مستغلة فى ذلك ما حققته من شهرة واسم لامع قبل أن «تتوب»! وأما أن تكون تجارتها باسم الدين وأن تفرض على تلك التجارة أطرا عنصرية تتعلق بفهم معين سطحى وخاطئ لها عن الدين تطبقه لتخرج لنا بنمط استفزازى عنصرى استغلالى فهو ما لا يمكن قبوله ولم نعهده فى مصر من قبل، وكان يجب على الفنانة التائبة أن تربأ بنفسها عنه.
القصة بدأت عندما انتشرت على عناوين البريد الإلكترونى رسالة إلكترونية مكتوبة باللغة الإنجليزية تم تداولها كوسيلة إعلان لترويج لمقهى جديد تملكه الممثلة المحجبة حنان ترك بالمشاركة مع زوجة ممثل مشهور، والترجمة الحرفية للرسالة تقول: أخيرا.. أصبح هناك مقهى تستطيع الفتيات والسيدات المسلمات الذهاب أو الخروج إليه! «صبايا كافيه»، مكان جميل تجدين فيه أفضل المأكولات والمشروبات، وليس فيه موسيقى ولا يسمح لغير البنات والسيدات المحجبات بالدخول إليه، لذلك هو مكان آمن للمنتقبات. «صبايا كافيه» تمتلكه حنان ترك وزوجة الفنان أحمد السقا!
«صبايا كافيه» مقهى وكوافير ويقدم لك كل ما تحتاج إليه المحجبة، سجاجيد للصلاة وهدايا. عنوان «صبايا كافيه» 6 شارع ميت غمر ميدان سفير مصر الجديدة، القاهرة. من مزايا «صبايا كافيه»: هو ملتقى للفتيات المسلمات المستعدات للتقرب من الله ويوفر لك فرصة توسيع دائرة صحبتك الصالحة! فى «صبايا كافيه» بإمكانك التصرف بحرية على راحتك بما فى ذلك خلع الحجاب أو النقاب. تستطيعين فى «صبايا كافيه» أن تتجنبى الخطايا فليس فيه غناء ولا تعرض فيه الأفلام، فقط أفلام كرتون والحفلات والعروض الدينية.
فى «صبايا كافيه» لديك فرصة للقاء حنان ترك! يتيح لك «صبايا كافيه» التمتع بفعل أشياء لن تتمكنى من فعلها فى أماكن أخرى من دون أن تغضبى الله! عموما «صبايا كافيه» سوف تكون مفيدة لك جدا من الناحيتين الدينية والدنيوية، فوجودك هناك سيجعلك تساعدين فى تغيير الصور الخاطئة عن المحجبات من عقود طويلة! ونرجو أولا ألا تصطحبى معك إلى «صبايا كافيه» فتيات مسيحيات لأنهن ممنوعات من دخوله، وثانيا عرض كل أصدقائك عليه لأن زيادة عدد رواد «صبايا كافيه» سوف يساعد «مُلاَّكه» على فتح فروع أخرى له إن شاء الله، فنحن فى أمس الحاجة إلى مكان يستوعبنا نحن معشر المحجبات والمنتقبات.
وأخيرا.. من فضلك فكرى جيدا قبل الذهاب إلى أى كافيه آخر غير «صبايا كافيه». هذا هو النص الذى تلقاه العديدون على بريدهم الإلكترونى، واضح جدا لقارئ الرسالة أن النص كله صياغة بلهاء لاستغلال تدين فنانة أو الاعتقاد بتدينها، تملك قدرا كبيرا من الشهرة، مع الأخذ فى الاعتبار أن معظم بنات مصر أصبحن محجبات، فهى عندما تنتقيهن كصفوة خصت بهن الكافيه دون غيرهن من السافرات فهى بذلك ضمنت أكبر قدر من الزبونات، وإلا فما المنطق فى الربط بين تجنب الخطايا وتجنب غضب الله والذهاب إلى مكان ليس به غناء وموسيقى، حيث افترضت الممثلة المحجبة أن الغناء والموسيقى حرام، وهذا يدل على فهم مشوش وازدواجية تعيش فيها حنان، فهى فى الوقت الذى تتلقى فيه عروضا لأفلام ومسلسلات ومازالت لديها النية فى تقديم أعمال بالحجاب، كما أكد لى أخوها حسام ترك، تحرم الموسيقى مع أن تلك الأعمال التى تنوى الاشتراك بها من المؤكد بها غناء وموسيقى حتى ولو فى «تيتر المسلسل» أو الفيلم الذى ستشارك فيه.
عندما ذهبنا إلى المكان تأكدنا أن المشروع ذو هدف تجارى بحت،وإن كان المكان فعلا فكرته جاءت للمنتقبات والمحجبات، حيث يذهبن لمكان يضمن فيه الجلوس والثرثرة مع أخواتهن، وكذلك إرضاء الله، وفى نفس الوقت يتربح أصحاب المكان ربحا ماديا وربحا أخرويا عند الله، حيث الثواب على مساعدة الفتيات على الجهاد والبعد عن الخطايا والرذائل! من الوهلة الأولى وقبل أن تدخل المكان تدرك أنك أمام نوع جديد من الكافيهات لم نعتده فى شوارعنا المتسامحة التى تسع الجميع، مقهى حنان ترك الذى هو للمحجبات فقط يحمل نوعا جديدا من العنصرية ويرسخ للفكر الدينى السطحى المتطرف الذى حول السيدات إلى محرمات محتجبات متخفيات، وعلى الأخوات الأخريات الاستفادة من هؤلاء المحجبات.
فى البداية تندهش عندما تجد اسم «الكافيه» مكتوبا باللغة الإنجليزية هكذا (Sabaya) وبجواره (Veiled... Beauty)، مما يدل على ازدواجية أصحاب هذا «الكافيه»، يقع الكافيه فى الدور الأرضى، وهو مكان مغلق تماما من الخارج لا يوجد حس ولا خبر.. حتى الشبابيك مدعمة بالستائر الكثيفة والباب مغلق، حيث تشعر أن المكان محصن ضد عدو ما، فهو بالطبع لابد أن يكون كذلك لكى يكون مكانا آمنا للمنتقبات والمحجبات من الذئاب البشرية التى قد تعتدى عليهن إذا كان المكان مفتوحا، أو تحاشيا لوزر الاختلاط برجال، وعليك أن تتعجب للطريقة التى يفكر بها هؤلاء لاعتقادهم الساذج أن التدين هو جلوس السيدات المحجبات فى مقهى بمفردهن! لكنك عندما تدخل وتتعرف عليهن تدرك أن اللافتة الدينية ليست سوى شعار، وإنما هى أشكال أخلاقية جديدة تسترن وراءها، فمعظم من بداخل المحل لسن من هؤلاء اللاتى يحملن أيديولوجية الحجاب أو الأخلاق، فهو مجرد شكل يعطيهن صبغة أخلاقية، ويمنحهن لقب الفضيلة والعفة، وسيتضح ذلك عندما نسرد جزءا من سلوكهن.
ليس الدخول من باب «صبايا كافيه» بالأمر السهل، فلابد أن تدق الجرس وتنتظر حتى يتأكد من بالداخل أنه ليس هناك رجل، وعلى الباب على غير العادة فى المكان من المفروض أنه مكان عام للجلوس ولتناول الطعام والمشروبات، فمثلا إذا كان هناك كوافير للمحجبات مغلق فهذا منطقى، أما أن يتحول الكافيه الذى من المفترض أنه مفتوح للجميع لمكان خاص بالسيدات المحجبات المغلق عليهن، فهذا قد يكون أى شىء، ولكن غير كافيه، ولكن الملاحظة التى لاحظتها عندما ذهبت لزيارة الكافيه أنهم لم يمنعوا دخول صديقتى غير المحجبة إلى المكان، على الرغم من أننى توقعت منعها بسبب الرسالة التى تحذر من ذلك، كما أن الأبواب المغلقة والستائر تنم عن جو انعزالى غامض، ولكن الأمر ليس كذلك من الداخل، فالبيزنس والاستفادة من الداخلات بأكبر قدر ممكن هو أساس التعامل مع السيدة أو الفتاة التى تدخل «الكافيه». كما اتضح لى أن تلك الهالة عن إعلان المحجبات بكوافير صبايا للمحجبات ما هو إلا استغلال لموجة الحجاب المنتشرة بين البنات، ولكن ما إن ذهبت إلى هناك ودققت الجرس ودخلت، فالجميع متساويات مادمن سيدفعن!
«صبايا كافيه» من الداخل بسيط جدا ليس بفخم كما أنه ضيق جدا، فهو عبارة عن جزءين سكشن للكافيه، وهى عبارة عن حجرة ضيقة تؤدى إلى زاوية صغيرة تقف فيها فتاتان تقومان بتجهيز المشروبات والمأكولات فيها، وفى الجانب الآخر من الحجرة أريكتان صغيرتان وكرسى، وبجوار الحجرة زاوية صغيرة توضع فيها المبيعات أو البضائع، وهى بضائع للمحجبات فقط، وفى الأيام العادية تباع فيها سجاجيد صلاة وإسدال وإيشاربات، ولكن فى اليوم الذى ذهبت فيه كان هناك (Open Day) أى يوم مفتوح، حيث تعرض مجموعة من الأخوات المحجبات من صديقات حنان بضاعتهن التى تخص المتدينات واللاتى يطمحن من بيعها إلى أن ينلن ثواب من سترتديها، بالإضافة إلى الأرباح أيضا، ففى هذا الركن الصغير جزء به «عباءات» سوداء فضفاضة للمحجبات، وجزء به إسدال وإيشاربات، وجزء به «حقائب»، وطاولة صغيرة فى المكان موضوع فيها إكسسوارات، وأوان مزركشة ومفارش، وركن به حذاءان فقط، هذا كله فى مكان ضيق لا يتعدى مترين فى مترين، كل تلك الأشياء توجد منها عينات قليلة، لكن لأن سعر العينة الواحدة يكفى، ويصل بين هذا السكشن والكوافير صالة مفتوحة ضيقة، أما الكوافير فهو أكثر اتساعا قليلا وليس هناك أى فرص للتجول أو الحركة أو أن يستوعب المكان أى أعداد قليلة جدا.
عندما دخلنا وجدنا حنان ترك تجلس لتتحدث مع هؤلاء العارضات، وعلمنا أن حنان لا تتواجد فى «الكافيه» بشكل يومى، لكنها ذهبت يوم الأربعاء الماضى خصيصا لدعم فكرة اليوم المفتوح، وتحقيق أكبر قدر من الرواج التجارى للفكرة.
ليس هذا فقط، بل إن بساطة المكان وعدم وجود أية خدمة مميزة به تجعلك تعرف من اللحظة الأولى أن مصدر دخل هذا المكان واستفادته هو فقط من أن حنان ترك هى مالكته، كما أن وجودها بالمكان سيغنى عن انتظارك لخدمة جيدة ومكان تستطيع أن تجلس فيه ببراح دون أن تكون مراقبا من عاملة البوفيه ومن بائعة الإكسسوارات ومن مديرة المكان ومن البنات الواقفات فى الاستقبال اللاتى يبعدن عن موضع جلوسهن بخطوتين، ومن عاملة الكوافير التى تتفرغ لمراقبتك إذا لم يكن لديها زبائن.
عندما دخلت أنا وصديقتى وجلسنا عرفنا أن معظم الموجودات فى المكان من صديقات حنان ومن العارضات والعاملات حتى من تدخل تكون من معارفهن. هممت لكى أسأل عن أسعار المعروضات قالت لى إحداهن: اطلبى حاجة الأول قبل ما تقومى، وأعطتنا قائمة بسلسلة كافيهات عالمية شهيرة لها فروع فى مختلف أنحاء القاهرة، وهى فروع عادية تفتح أبوابها لكل الناس دون تفرقة وتذيع الموسيقى الأوروبية الخفيفة، وكان من السهل أن نفهم أن «صبايا» هذا هو الفرع الإسلامى للكافيه العالمى، واكتشفت أن أسفل القائمة مكتوب «بوترى صبايا»، أى أن كافيه صبايا أخذ توكيلا من هذا الكافيه والمشروبات والمأكولات بنفس الأسعار، ولكن طبعا شتان بين الخدمة فى الكافيه العالمى الشهير غير المحجب وصبايا كافيه الذى هو للمحجبات فقط. أما الملاحظة الأساسية فهى أنه بسبب أن كل من بالمكان الصغير تعرف الأخرى فأى غريبة بالنسبة لهن تكون مصدر شك أو ريبة، فمثلا أنت لا تستطيعين أن تدخلى «صبايا كافيه» وتجلسى لفترة طويلة لأنهن يعرفن أنهن يمتلكن مكانا ضيقا والتى تأتى يكفى عليها أنها نالت شرف رؤية حنان ترك وشربت شيئا وأكلت شيئا. الغريب فى هذا المكان أن الدفع يكون مقدما قبل أن تأكلى أو تشربى، فهن يكتبن الشيك أولا وتدفعين ثم يأتى الـ (Order)، ثم ليس هناك منطق أن تجلسى إلا إذا اشتريت شيئا من المعروضات أو تعاملت مع الكوافير المجاور، وبخلاف ذلك فإن البقاء فى المكان ليس له معنى بالنسبة لإدارة المكان، أى أن العنوان كافيه ولكن الداخل مكان تدفعين فيه أكبر قدر من المال فى كل ركن من أركانه ثم تخرجين، وهكذا بمجرد أن تجلس «الزبونة» تجد من تسألهاعشرات الأسئلة: موش هتشربى حاجة؟! «موش هتشترى حاجة»، «موش هتعملى شعرك»؟! أما إذا كانت «الزبونة» محجبة فقيرة أو على باب الله فعليها أن تشرب المشروب وتكتفى بمشاهدة حنان ترك، لأن أقل عباءة فى المكان سعرها ألف جنيه! ولأننى كنت أريد أن أجلس أكبر وقت ممكن لكى أعرف مزيدا عن هذا المكان العجيب فقمت أنا وصديقتى لنسأل عن أسعار المعروضات، فوجدنا سعر الشنطة يصل إلى 600 جنيه، أما الحذاء فأيضاً بنفس السعر، والأكسسوار فأقل اكسسوار معروض ثمنه 550جنيها، فاتجهنا للعباءة السوداء فوجدنا سعرها ألف جنيه، وبعد التخفيض لك يمكن أن تأخذيها بـ 950 جنيها إذا أخذت معها إكسسوارات يعنى عباية وإكسسوار بألف ونصف! الغريب أن العباءة السوداء بسيطة جدا ولو اشترتها المحجبة من الخارج فلن تتعدى مائة أو مائتى جنيه! لكنها معروضة فى مكان يحمل اسم حنان ترك، وقد أدركت جيدا أن هذا هو ملخص حكاية «صبايا كافيه»، وفى هذه الأثناء كانت حنان ترك تقيس أمام المرآة إحدى العباءات كنوع من تشجيع الزبائن القليلات جدا فى الكافيه، والعارضات الأخريات يبدين استحسانهن الرهيب للعباءة التى لم يكن لها ملامح أو شكل على جسم حنان ترك النحيل، وعندما وجدت الجميع ينظر لى ولصديقتى ولست أنا فقط، بل كانت هناك فتاة أخرى واضح أنها زى حالتنا كانت تعامل بنفس القرف واللاذوق واللا أخلاق، فانتقلت للكوافيرة فوجدت نفس الأسعار الخرافية، وطلبنا «ساندويتشا» حتى يكون هناك مبرر لوجودنا، فإذا بواحدة من الزبونات أو البائعات الأرستقراطيات تقول لنا: انتو ليه سألتوا على كل حاجة ومشترتوش حاجة؟! قلنا لها لأن الأسعار غالية جدا، فردت بنظرة ذات دلالة وقالت: لماذا تأتين إلى هنا مادمتن فقيرات؟!.. بالمبلغ ده يبقى متقعدوش فى الكافيه، لكنها لم تكتف بذلك وظلت تتهامس مع الأخريات، ثم جاءت لنا مرة أخرى وقالت: إحنا آسفين، قالت هناخد بريك، أى راحة، «تعبانين» جدا، وأى واحدة غريبة عننا تطلع بره، ولأن أنا الوحيدة وصديقتى الغريبتان يبقى نطلع بره، فقلت لها: ولكننا دفعنا ثمن الغداء وننتظره، قالت: سنغلفه لكما وتأخذانه «تيك أواى» معكما، قلت لها: ولكننا ننتظر صديقات قادمات بالنقود من أجل أن نشترى عباءة، فقالت: مظهركن لا يدل على أنكما «بتوع شرا» مثل هذه الأشياء! فقلت لها: ولكن هذا كذب وأنتو محجبات والمفترض أنكن محترمات ومكتوب أن هذا مكان عام يفتح أبوابه «11 صباحا ويغلق 9 مساء»، وجلسنا على أريكة موضوعة فى الصالة الضيقة التى تصل الكافيه بالكوافير، لحظتها تأكدت أن كل من يدخلن هن من مستويات مرتفعة جدا وعلى علاقة جيدة بصاحبات المكان، وهن يتبعن الطريقة السعودية فى الزى، حيث يأتين من الخارج بالعباءات السوداء والحجاب الأسود، وفى داخل المكان يخلعن العباءات، فإذا بأحدث الموديلات من ملابس ضيقة وجينز وبادى، وعندما خرجت من الكافيه أنا وصديقتى وبعدما ابتعدنا قليلا وجدنا من العاملات المحجبات بالكافيه، بالإضافة إلى مديرة الكافيه المحجبة، يجرين خلفى ثم أمسكن بى واعتدين علىّ بالضرب وقمن بتمزيق حقيبة يدى بعنف شديد، ثم أخذن جهاز الموبايل من الحقيبة، ولاحظت أن هؤلاء الفتيات لديهن طاقة عنف غير عادية، وكان هذا الهجوم الإرهابى سببه أن واحدة منهن شكت أننى التقطت صورة للمكان من الخارج بكاميرا الموبايل، بعد ذلك أخذن الموبايل وجرين به فى الشارع، ودخلن مرة أخرى وأغلقن الباب! ولحظتها اتجهت للشرطة وحررت محضرتعد واستيلاء بالإكراه ضد الكافيه وصاحبته حنان ترك، وكان المحضر فى قسم النزهة برقم إدارى 13928 فانتقل الضابط حسن السيسى إليهن واعترفن بأنهن أخذن الموبايل وقلن له أنهن سيرجعنه له فى قسم الشرطة، وبعد فترة جاء الأستاذ حسام ترك أخو حنان وأ. خالد «خال حنان» ومعهما الموبايل، وقد باشر العقيد طه فودة - رئيس مباحث النزهة - الإجراءات وقال لى أ. خالد «خال حنان ترك» أنه لم يأت بالموبايل إلا بعد أن تحرى عنى جيدا! وعرف كل شىء عنى لدرجة أنه قال لى معلومات خاصة عن ميعاد انتقالى من آخر سكن إلى سكن جديد، والتحقيقات التى نشرتها فى «روزاليوسف» وقال لى أنه رغب فى التأكد من أننى صحفية، وهنا رد أخو حنان ترك أنهم شكوا أن تكون هناك منظمات مسيحية تحاول الضرب فى الكافيه! لأن هناك أناسا أنشأوا موقعا يضرب فى كافيه حنان ترك، وكذلك المجلة التى أنشأتها وصدر منها مؤخرا عددها الثامن «مجلة نونا»!
الواقعة البسيطة تلك تؤكد أن هؤلاء السيدات اللاتى ابتدعن شكلا جديدا من الكافيات لن يدركن خطورته إلا إذا تحول المجتمع إلى جزر منعزلة للمحجبات وللمنتقبات وآخر للمسيحيات بكل طائفة منهن وواحدة للرجال المسلمين وواحدة للرجال المسيحيين، لحظتها سنتخيل فقط حجم الكارثة.
قال لى حسام ترك أخو حنان إن حنان عندما امتنعت عن العمل فى الفن لم تستطع أن تجلس طويلا فى المنزل لأنها تعودت على العمل المتواصل فقامت بإنشاء المجلة «نونا» التى تقضى فيها معظم أيام الأسبوع ما عدا يومين، وكذلك هذا الكافيه الذى بدأت إعداده منذ سنة، ولكن تم افتتاحه من ستة شهور، وليس بهدف التربح ولكن لقضاء الوقت به، وقد سألته عن منع السيدات المسيحيات من دخول هذا الكافيه، فقال: إن هذا تحريف فى الرسالة الإلكترونية! ثم عاد ليقول أن فكرة الكافيه جاءت من حنان وأخواتها المحجبات، وكانت الفكرة فى الأساس للمحجبات والمنتقبات، لكن المسيحيات وغير المحجبات مسموح لهن بالدخول والشراء والأكل عادى، ولكن لا يقمن بتصفيف شعرهن فى الكوافير لأن غير المحجبات المسلمات والمسيحيات إذا عملن شعرهن فى كوافير صبايا سيخرجن فى الشارع به وسيراه الرجال فتحمل حنان ترك وصبايا وزرهن، أما المحجبات فإذا صففن شعرهن فلن يظهرن إلا على محارمهن فلا وزر، وسألته عن مها الصغير زوجة الفنان أحمد السقا فقال: إن مها الصغير فضت الشركة مع حنان ترك فى هذا الكافيه. وقال: إن سبب الخلاف أن مها كانت تريد أن نصفف شعر غير المحجبة والمسيحية مثل والدها، صاحب مراكز التجميل الشهيرة «محمد الصغير» وحنان رفضت ذلك، لأن فكرة المشروع فى الأساس للمحجبات والمنتقبات.

AmiroZ said...

رابط تحقيق روز اليوسف عن مقهى صبايا حنان ترك
http://www.egypty.com/people-talk-details.aspx?people_talk=1068

رابط آخر من مدونة حجاب نقاب وزبالات أخرى عن نفس الموضوع
http://hegab-nekab.blogspot.com/2007/12/blog-post_8036.html

Anonymous said...

dear fantasia and egyptian feminist chic and the rest of the scheme team ,

today, I asked the film makers the most effective way to make a professional product without relying on professionals or studios and so on. the response was more or less what egyptian feminist chic had suggested, but I suppose it is good to have it confirmed by people who do this for a living.

I was asking specifically about the style of the initial film that we had spoken of to begin the campaign, the series of individual women—and then you/ we’ll have to decide among several possible style variations to achieve the best effect. for example, do the women silently unveil one after the other, and then have the slogan “unveil your mind” loud and proud in the final clip or does each woman say it too.

anyway, here are the responses I got. fantasia, you asked about the cost. the only things you need to do this are a video camera, possibly a digital camera, a computer, and editing software. in terms of editing software, for a mac, you can use final cut pro or imuvee maker. there are comparable programs for pcs as well.

ideally, you are able to use the same video camera to shoot each woman in the series. then, you just import the whole film clip onto your computer and continue your editing process. otherwise, you would collect all the clips on the computer and splice them together.

now, regarding adding music or sound without obscuring the voices of the speakers, I was told that it depends on where each clip of the women is taped. if the background is quiet, ie. no strong wind and definitely no cairene traffic noises, then you can keep the woman’s voice and add music or sound in the final edit. if you are shooting in a noisy area, then you’ll want to erase the sound completely during filming and tape it later separately.

the final slogan is inserted at the end during the editing process and, as mentioned, the music background, if any, is added then too.

I also asked about the possibility of filming inside, for example, and adding the background later. I was thinking that this might be a good plan in terms of privacy for obvious reasons. also in the context of opening with that famous snapshot of huda shaarawi with friends, we might then insert that very same background in each of the film clips if it is possible to do so. unfortunately, there was not enough time to find out about how difficult it is to accomplish this process. I will make every effort to find out the answer to this though and will post it when, and if, I do.

I hope I haven’t forgotten anything. I will see what I can do in terms of finding out more about style, technique, and process.

I have been giving this plan a lot of thought and although I am not able to participate on the spot to help this dream come to fruition, I am quite good with creative contextual ideas and effective design to convey a particular message and will happily keep the ideas flowing and contribute in any other way possible.

at this point, we need more action than ideas, but I came up with another possible series for the campaign which I think is potentially inspired but again there's a need for caution as it is also potentially delicate. I thought I'd just throw the idea out there and then we could use our imaginations to run with it.

this idea would be the umm kulthoum series in which we take two lines or so of her singing the lyrics of a particular song and apply it to the context of the current situation of women in egypt.

the first that came to mind...i think the song is al-atlal and the lyrics that we would use begin "ateyni hurriyeti" and so on. the complete and safe and possible idea in terms of visuals hasn't come to me yet, but the beginning is there. lissa fakr could flash several postcards of people on the corniche in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, or 1970s--pick a decade--followed by the same number of the cityscape shots in the present. the final shot is, as in the rest of the series, unveil your mind or whatever the decided upon slogan is. many of her songs will be suitable for these purposes. main idea is to visually and aurally tie in the position of women with the position of the country and of course to make people think.

delicate, i know, but perhaps there is an easy creative way to transmit the message without taking any risks. i will continue to let the ideas swirl.

Fantasia said...

dearest feminist chic,
thanks a million for your suggestions and evident enthusiasm.. will try to recruit those who are interested in working on this project. wish me luck.

Fantasia said...

egy anatomist,
woooooooow!! that is actually much worse than anything i had in mind. this hanan turk is so messed up. this is not a business, it is a criminal hiding place apparently. thank you so much for the article. i was dying to hear from someone who had actually been to the place. seems it was far more adventurous than i expected.

Fantasia said...

amir,
thanks for the useful links. hope you will be a frequent visitor.

Fantasia said...

dear raaasa,
hey, what can i tell you girl? you are amazing! i can never thank you enough for your help and brilliant ideas. reading your comment, i started imaging the video clips with the music of um kolthoum commenting on the scenes. this is a great idea. i believe you should work in advertising.. you will make a fortune, believe me.
with the information you provided i guess we are ready to move to action. i will ask all my friends if they know of someone who can help with recording and editing. will keep you updated for sure. thank you so much dear.

Unknown said...

Dear Fanta

They just erased your entry and mine on Sabaya's Face Book... as well as the picture of Hanan in prison and the no Hegab / No Nekab logo that I posted on the Group's photo album !!!

That was fun!!!

now, you might like to send messages to the members of the group and Hanan herself (she is on FB) with the links of our posts!!! will be fun bardo!!!

Fantasia said...

hassan,
thanks for letting me know that.. i just didn't want to criticise their pathetic cafe behind their backs. seems they couldn't handle it.. but why erase the links? isn't that rude? why didn't they even care to defend their religious cafe?? if i were in their shoes (God forbid) i would have used this as an opportunity to express my point of view. anyway, it was fun as you said. it's enough that our voices reached them. let them pretend they didn't listen, it doesn't change anything. they are as cowardly as i expected.

Anonymous said...

you're very welcome. I am delighted to be contributing to a thoroughly worthwhile project. my longer response to your reply is in the works.

here is another idea for the umm kulthoum series, posted before I forget. how about inta umri with scene flashes from marital discord and drama from old movies from the 40s and 50s---I am seeing faten hamama in my mind's eye although no specific film comes to mind.
ending, of course, with unveil your mind.

do you think there might be copyright issues with something like this?

Anonymous said...

thank you, fantasia, for your lovely words, kind feedback, and most supportive enthusiasm. yep, I do think that these ideas have the potential to accomplish a great deal of good and I am happy to do what little I can to help.

advertising, huh? I'll give it some thought, but I doubt though that I could apply the same amount of passion and enthusiasm to yogurt or fulla dolls that I am prepared to contribute to this cause. friends, however, do keep trying to convince me to come back to egypt for good--perhaps I'll suggest that they try bribing me with a good job in advertising.

it is actually me that should be thanking you for your commitment in addressing and tackling so gracefully some of the ills that contribute to the degeneration of egyptian society as a whole and devastation of the lifeforce of that drives individual spirits in particular.

also, i should thank you for these most awesome lively discussions that your ideas stimulate on these comment boards.

(my orignial response was turning into a novel, so I'll post it in bits and pieces when I can.)

Anonymous said...

sorry for the late response, its been quite hectic here! ive just caught up with the rest of the comments, and im liking the ideas! great job all!
regarding monetary funding, i'd be happy to donate should the need arise. perhaps u can set up a donation link on ur site?

Anonymous said...

something i just found out... muvee maker has a new version where you can add voices and captions to videos besides the back ground music... i will probably download the free trial... hube and i are thinking of buying it... but i dont know if we actually will, it is a little over a hundred dollars... i will let you know if i buyit, so hopefully i might be able tohelp putting things together!!!

if we dont end up buying it, then we can each work on the video a little.... each person downloads it, uses it during the free trial period, and whe the time is up, you can forward your work to th next person to work on it to....

i already have thebasic version that doesnt add voice over or caption, so i can continue to add stuff even after the trial expires....

anyway i will let you know if we end up getting it!! good night!

egy anatomist said...

My ladies Fantasia, EFC, Raasa and Mr. Denial
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Actually I have been following your discussions with eagerness and suspence yet with suspicion in the practicality of what you dessire to do.Phenomenology-wise, it takes far more than media messages to eradicate the root causes of such nauseating phenomenon, or even affecting its existence in a considerable way. however I must admit that I was really inspired with how far you are all concerned on the future of this country and with preserving its original soul untouched. Therefore I got convinced that regardless the prompt impact of ur project, it really worth the trial. It really will make all of us who r concerned abt Egypt feel somehow better, that at least we said our word, and we declared it that we r egyptians, proud to be egyptians, and we refuse this severe invasion that is making use of the bad economic circumistances of the Egyptians, and that Egypt's sons and daughter aren't ungrateful to their mother country, and they are willing to say it loud: Unveil ur mind, or: Take ur dirty hands off egypt's minds.

Kholasto, Im in.

I donno wt exactly my share could be, considering my semi computer-illiteracy and being outside Egypt. I believe I can do a good job regarding generating some hitting ideas. Moreover I add my voice to Mr. Denial re the issue of donation to get the muvee makers software and any other needed resources to make our voice heared clearly.

Come on people.. We need something sophisticated yet CLEAR, forceful yet FRIENDLY, frank yet COMPASSIONATE, rational yet EMOTIONAL, humanistic yet EGYPTIAN..

Thank you all.. and special thanks to Ms faithful inspirer FANTASIA.

Fantasia said...

denial & egy anatomist,
i'd like to thank you both so much for your kind offer to send your donations. i can clearly see your enthusiasm and sincere desire to help us with this project.. but i am afraid i won't be able to accept any donations. your offer is much appreciated, and sure your help will be needed at some point when we start working on the videos. thanks a million.

Fantasia said...

feminist chic,
that's simply brilliant. i didn't know that you can download a free trial for muvee maker. buying the software would cost a lot, and i don't want you to pay that much for it, especially that we can all work on this together. i will try to know as much as i can about using muvee maker before actually downloading it.. this way i won't waste time with exploring its features and stuff like that. what remains is the filiming itself, and i am still inquiring about who can possibly help with that.
can't thank you enough for your support. your enthusiasm is so inspiring.

Anonymous said...

a simple muvee maker version comes standard wth most hp laptops.... i dont know about desktops, they might have it too.... so if you knowsomone with an hp laptop, ask them if you can see the muvee maker program ontheir computer.. it will give you an idea! HTH.

Anonymous said...

I've been meaning to respond to egy anatomist's kind and enthusiastic note for quite some time and always seem to get distracted by some other flurry of thoughts or urgent life tasks.

While I agree with your skepticism regarding the effectiveness of "the campaign," tackling the root causes is quite a task. Root causes, eh,yanni? As much as I'd like to think of myself as an optimist, taking on every level of reform that needs to be addressed to begin to get to the root causes might be a tad ambitious:)

People have stopped thinking for themselves. They are either spending their days putting one foot in front of the other or delighting in how much better off they are than anyone else and dreaming up other ways to impress.

I think that the biggest challenge is reaching people to prod them into a bit of reflection and, hopefully, action. We don't have access to promote our message in something as far-reaching as a weekly khutba and even if we did, we'd be unable to reach most of the other half of the population.

I am certainly not saying we'll be able to reach a large number of people, but if our message is organised and interesting enough to attract, then word of mouth will spread quickly. Surely you know how potent gossip is?

Another challenge is making something that people want to see.
People do not want to see crying and sadness.

To give an example here of a successful video, a normal student guy in Russia made a homemade, zero budget cheesy and hilarious video with no message whatsoever, well not really, which has had over a half million hits--ok, the guy can sing, but the point is that if you make something worth watching, the news will travel fast.

Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOzkN8dHnjk

Egyptians are famous for quirky humour--this is a power that we need to consider using to convey our message too. We need to consider how to harness it and dress our messages in a way which is palatable to the public.

Anonymous said...

and another thing addressing root causes...as you can see this is quickly turning into an obsession with me...

came across yet another egyptian willing to change the world for the better. old post but worth a look:

http://adhamkhairy.wordpress.com/2006/12/03/the-solution/

Anonymous said...

and more good news about Egypt and youtube?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/16/AR2007121601559.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Anonymous said...

توضيح : إلى كل الصبايا
ظهرت في الفترة الأخيرة إشاعات كثيرة تسيء لي و لصبايا كافيه . و أنا عادتا لا ألتفت لهذة الكلمات و لكن طلب مني الكثير منكن التوضيح و الرد عليها من باب العلم
و أنا أقول أنا صبايا كافيه هو مكان لكل الصبايا مسلمات و مسيحيات و كل الأديان ز ولم و لن يمنع أحد من الدخول إلى الكافية . فهو ليس مسجد و لا دير بل هو كافيه و كوافير

هو مكان لقضاء وقت جميل لفترة زمنيه في مكان راقي يليق بالصبايا

حنان ترك

Anonymous said...

I searched for something completely different, but found your website! And have to say thanks. Nice read. Will come back.

"When I dare to be powerful - to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid" - Audre Lorde