New issue of Cairo is online
Readers of Arabist.net might be interested in Cairo’s analysis of the fallout of the Sharm Al Sheikh bombings, an interview with radical writer Sayed Al Qemani, who gave up his writing career and recanted after receiving a death threat, a campaign against the way the ministry of tourism depicts Egypt that got started online, a voxpop on the Muslim Brotherhood, a look at how MEPI is not working out in Egypt or perhaps a new Adel Imam comedy about living next door to the Israeli embassy. There’s a lot more here too.
Fun for the whole Arabist family.
Categories: Egypt, Media.
Re: Mish Keda and the ad campaign
I bought a postcard in Cairo in 1983 that featured bikini clad women reclining on the beach wall of Alexandria’s COrniche. By their outfits it was clearly a reprint of a Nasser-era card. In 1983 it was already inconceivable that women hung out on the Corniche in bikinis, but I assumed the postcard meant that they did so in the 60s.
Now I’m wondering if Nasser’s bureau of tourism could have staged the 60s era postcard shoot.
This is all a topic for a feminist studies paper - any grad students want to take the bait?
I’m sorry to speculate, but is the Egyptian government trying to remind Arab tourists that they can see scantily clad women in Egypt, too, not only in Beirut?
Just remember that standards of modesty loosened up considerably in the 60s and 70s, then began to tighten up (or cover up?) in the 80s.
Dear Leila,
it’s a good point that in the Nasser era bikini-clad women were not uncommon. The point of this I think is not that the ad campaign is unusual - every country tries to sell its tourism industry partly with sex, it’s what works just like in any other ad. The point is that there are now young Egyptians who are not religious fundamentalists who are insulted by the idea that they are being given an image that does not fit either their beliefs or the way their country looks like or of what they believe in.
It’s an increasing trend here that, as a result of the new apolitical reliogiosity that’s become popular among many young people over the past decade, young people are taking up causes like this. It’s a way of asserting their national identity as they see it over what the tourism industry and the state try to sell it as. I think this is a positive development because it’s non-violent way of asserting religious/social values and one that is more politically inclusive than what you might have from your standard Islamist (angry condemnation, fatwas, etc…) And most important of all, a young girl has been able to start this all by herself in a notoriously apolitical country. She did something that does not seem political (because of the way politics is defined here and the old framework for political thinking of pro-govt vs. anti-govt. or islamist vs. nationalists vs. leftist) but that is in fact profoundly political, but without being radical. Watch this space.
I also find it profound and fascinating, but I wonder how much of its success has to do with Cairene dislike of Khaleejis taking over the town in July.
There’s a whole series on Adel Imam’s film in English Al-Ahram this week. Some interesting stuff there.