Tuesday 23 October 2012

Book review: A woman from Upper Egypt - Review - Books - Ahram Online

Book review: A woman from Upper Egypt - Review - Books - Ahram Online: Awatef Abdel-Rahman presents one of the most important testimonies of over 70 years of political and social life in Egypt, especially given that it's told by a woman in a male-dominated society.

Abdel-Rahman was born in the early 1940s (she never states exactly what year), and is a professor at the University of Mass Media. She received various Egyptian and Arab awards for her work in media and published over 30 books, mostly on journalism and media.

The author's youth takes up a significant portion of her consciousness, and in the book, it is recalled with much ease and flow, including many rare details of life in the little village hugged by the western mountain in Assiut. In her own words:

"This period (following the annual flood) is considered among the few delightful periods in our lives, for it was filled with night visits, when the women and children would go, guarded by the servants, to the Nile, after the evening prayers, and stay till dawn….

We would go for mountain trips, waking in the early morning before the sun rises, with servants carrying baskets of food and fruits."

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