I have been living in Cairo for three months.
It is a beautiful city, but every day is a struggle. Although, from the beginning, I have heeded the advice of travel guides and Egyptian women and everyday have worn long sleeves and long pants or skirts to avoid attracting attention, I am constantly harassed by men on the streets. Every single one of my female friends here has been grabbed or molested within the last month. Just last week, a close friend of mine, who happens to be Egyptian-American, was sexually assaulted by five men while walking through a religious festival on her way home.
I attended a Rotaract meeting a few weeks ago, thinking that I wanted to get involved in a community service project they were planning. At this meeting, I struck up a conversation with a few of the organizers. Somehow the topic turned to sexism in Egypt and I expressed my outrage that the Dean of Free Islamic Studies at Al Azhar (the Islamic University) had issued a media statement that it is acceptable to "mildly beat your wife". None of the highly-educated young professional men I was talking with understood why I was so angry. In fact, they attempted to justify the statement to me, citing the inclusion of the modifier "mildly." They tried to convince me that I just did not understand their "culture."
The sexism, sexual harassment, and sexual assault that pervades and is so often condoned or overlooked in this society sucks. I have a strong feeling that the current political movement towards Islamic conservatism is largely responsible for the condition of women in this country.
In the same way the Greek system pervades social life at Dartmouth, Islam pervades every facet of life in Cairo. In the same way that some students believe that the Greek system has problems that have detrimental effects on the community, I believe that there are problems in conservative Islamic thought that have detrimental and oppressive effects on at least one-half of the Cairene population.
It is puzzling to me that though Islam seems to be oppressive and faulty in its treatment of women, it is still embraced wholeheartedly by most of the women in this city. It is clear to me, however, that the problems facing women in Egypt are not exclusive to Egypt and Islam. Furthermore, it is clear that Islam is a huge, important part of most Egyptians' lives and essentially constitutes the very fabric of Egyptian society.
To my foreign eye, the strongest and most beautiful facet of the religion is that it fosters an incredibly strong sense of community. Although I do not regret having been non-Greek at Dartmouth, if I had to go back and live it all over again, I would think very seriously about rushing a sorority in my sophomore year. The Dartmouth undergraduate community is one of the strongest and most inclusive I know of. Sororities and fraternities are not only communities and support networks in and of themselves, but the Greek system has, over the years, thanklessly provided so much for Dartmouth community.
An American expatriate who has spent many years in Cairo advised me to channel my anger into constructive activism. The most logical steps to take would be to strive to build and improve upon the system that already exists. It would not make me a great person if I decided to take Islam away from people who treasure it. It would not achieve very much at all, actually. The problems probably would not vanish, as they exist outside of the religion as well, and the community would stand to lose much of its history, culture, and character.
For Dartmouth, I hope that we find a way to build upon the Greek system, creating solutions for our problems and more options for those who choose to abstain from participating at all. Then, maybe those students who are so vehemently opposed to the Greek system will not be handcuffed, dragged, and forced to spend their Friday nights in a house listening to a DJ spin and being served free drinks.
