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as well as combining those with the older women I have interviewed,
I wish to show that by empowering women in the Middle East, this
can solve a myriad of economic issues simply by getting more skilled
women into the workforce and thus my thesis can be applied to
countries throughout Africa and the Middle East.
Life for these women has got to change and Egypt is the ideal
place to start, as it has a lot of influence in the region. Maybe I’m not
being realistic as to how much I can really change, but aspiring to
help these women who are not as lucky as I have been is not a bad
thing by any means.
I think this is what my experiences here in Egypt have taught me
the most. Being here during the uprising has been… enlightening,
terrifying, empowering and incredible, sometimes even all at the
same time. Standing in the square surrounded by tens of thousands
of Egyptians crying out for justice and then
succeeding
, I think that
really showed me that people can make a difference and change
things for the better. It’s hard to explain how it felt being right there
in the middle of a revolution, and it wasn’t even my revolution – I
just stood back and watched as Mubarak fell.
In the coming year I will continue working on my thesis in
conjunction with my job at
WWF
. It’s a big year, as both Zahira and
Aisha are in their final year of school and are preparing for the
transition into university, so the WWF and I will be working hard
to support them. I am also nervous but quite keen to watch as the
political situation in Egypt unfolds and what that means for the
women living here.
Egypt is a truly extraordinary place. Alien – but it is now home.
Frommy apartment balcony, if I squint I can see the Pyramids on the
horizon – gold, yellow, orange, pink or red depending on the time of
day. Cars rush past me below, their lights leaving an incandescent
stream that nearly blinds me whilst the pedestrians walk in the
shadows under the looming buildings and trees. Women wrapped in
their veils, black with the occasional vibrant spark of blue, red, green
or purple, the wind whipping the fabric in a frenzied dance, without
purpose, without pause. Egypt is light and dark in all shades. Brilliantly
bright at midday, the boiling sun beating down. Icy cold at night,
midnight spreading her black silken veils over the world.
‘
Incandescent
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