Born and raised in Egypt, I was brought up to be a good middle class Egyptian girl; but somehow being good did not suit my notions. Deep down I have rejected the heavy heritage of traditions and norms that made no sense to my inquisitive mind. I could not understand why girls were killed, committed suicide, or lived in eternal shame when they lost their virginity. I failed to comprehend why such a rule applied only to girls and their male counterparts were spared. After my grand mother passed away we stopped celebrating Christmas, New Year's Eve, Halloween, and Thanks Giving … does being a Muslim deny me all my childhood memories? Why do I have to get married? Why can't I date? Why do men cheat? Why do I have to accept it? Why? Why? Why? And many more unanswered questions.
I have come a long way from the scared little girl that I once was … I found my passion in writing, my voice in teaching & training, and my strength in marketing … I took off my mask … and I decided to speak up and loud .. as loud as loud could ever be.
Latest posts by Marwa Rakha from November, 2008
Are Women making Egypt Poorer?
Women: Should they stay at home and raise kids or should they work and have a contribution? A controversial question that Fantasia's World tried to answer in her post: Are...
Egypt: Locking Al Azhar students in the dark ages!
Al Azhar English Training Center is funded through a partnership agreement between Al Azhar University, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund and the British Council. The Center was...
Egypt: Police officers banned off university campus
In a historic court ruling, police are now banned from patrolling Cairo University's campus. Instead, the university will have to deploy civilian personal as security guards. Bloggers, who linked police...
Is Secularism the answer to Egypt's Sectarianism?
Egypt has always been known as an Islamic country where Muslims, Christians, and Jews peacefully co-existed. Today this is no longer the case. Is secularism the solution? Following is an...
Egypt: 89% of Youth Support Internet Censorship Law
Eighty-nine per cent of Egyptian young men and women surveyed recently stated that they are in favour of an Internet censorship law. Bloggers Times shares the most recent statistics on...
Egypt: First Human Rights Film Festival
Seven films about human rights are being showcased at the first Cairo Human Rights Film Festival, which continues until Thursday (November 27). Marwa Rakha previews blogger reactions on the event.
Egypt: Uproar as Lawyer Suggests Raping Israeli Women
Voice of Egypt is ashamed of Egyptian Lawyer Nagla Al Imam, the same lawyer who made Egyptians angry, for encouraging Arab men to sexually harass Israeli women during her interview...
Egypt: Sawiris Takes on Switzerland
Cairo's Scene & Heard celebrated entrepreneur and hotelier Sameh Sawiris's new project in Switzerland saying: “Now that we're branching out into Europe…do you think we stand a chance next to...
Egypt: No More Natural Gas to Israel
An Egyptian court has banned the export of natural gas to Israel. Marwa Rakha briefs us about the deal, and what an Egyptian blogger is writing about the court order...
Egypt: American University in Cairo's New Campus Sparks Debate
Designed to accommodate 5,500 full-time students and 1,500 faculty and staff, the American University in Cairo's new $400 million, 260-acre campus is technologically advanced and environmentally friendly. Students say that...
Egypt: Convicted for being a Blogger
Is blogging a serious crime? And is speaking up for others something which warrants punishment? Egyptian Marwa Rakha translates a post from Arabic which discusses bloggers and blogging in Egypt.
Egypt on Fire: The Gloves and The Invisible Hand
On Thursday November 6th when Egyptians were celebrating Obama's Victory, Al Ghad Party went up in flames. You can read about the initial blogosphere reactions here and here. Today I...
Egypt: No Sexual Harassment Here, says the First Lady
Sexual harassment is a real threat in Egypt. A study shows that two-thirds of men harass women, and bloggers have repeatedly written about it -- but Egypt's first lady Suzanne...
Egypt Ranks High in Corruption
Egypt ranks 115 in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index, which tracks 180 countries by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys. The rankings are...
Egypt for Sale
Word is out that every Egyptian citizen who is over 21 years old will own a part of Egypt's public sector companies and factories. The announcement has been the core...
The Egyptian Hospital in Bagram
Egypt operates a small military hospital in Bagram, Afghanistan. The Press has just got wind of it - and a blogger wonders why such inspirational stories take a while for...
Egypt: No Manhood for the Manhood Drink!
Egypt has launched a fierce campaign against sexual harassment in the aftermath of the recent events written about here on Global Voices. But people working in the media industry do...
Rim Banna – A Voice from Palestine
Clueless came across Rim Banna's work recently and she was moved beyond the words on her blog. Marwa Rakha shares her story.
Egypt: Lawsuit calling for the devalidation of 25,000 Muslim Hadiths
Marwa Rakha translates for us today a post about an unusual lawsuit against Al Azhar University in Egypt calling for devalidation of 25,000 Muslim Hadiths. "Does Al Azhar have the...
Egypt: Mother incriminated in a case of FGM
On May 23, in a post titled The Victimization of Egyptian Women and Children, I quoted Fantasia – a girl who dreams of a better future for Egyptian women –...
