Brava

November 2013

Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/205284

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 58 of 99

OF REVOLUTIONS + REVELATIONS SHE WAS STANDING on the Capitol Square in Madison, but as Névine El Nossery joined friends in solidarity in February 2011 during the protests of Governor Scott Walker's budget initiative to rescind collective bargaining rights for most public-service unions, she couldn't help but think of the revolts occurring on Cairo's Tahrir Square, halfway around the world in her native Egypt. the streets to protest the repression and corruption of President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year reign. Mubarak was ousted on Feb. 11, 2011. After parliamentary elections in June 2012, Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood became president to be overthrown in July 2013. Egyptians now await new elections in their country's ever-changing political situation. As El Nossery held a sign at the Capitol Square that read "Egyptians are with Wisconsinites," she was frequently asked by peers about the lack of visibility of women at the Egyptian protests, and whether they even had opinions about political rule or its direction. produce "She was…at Tahrir Square," a documentary featuring interviews with nine Egyptian women of different ages, classes and ideologies. Friends and others in Egypt helped her locate women for the documentary's 2012 interviews. To date, her documentary has been shown several times on campus, in addition to viewings at other events. Born in Cairo and now a tenured associate professor in the department of French NÉVINE EL NOSSERY CAPTURES THE POLITICAL VISION AND VOICE OF EGYPTIAN WOMEN BY TAMIRA MADSEN PHOTOGRAPHED BY SARAH MAUGHAN saw her documentary as an opportunity to educate friends, colleagues and a wider audience about Egyptian women's strength and vision about politics. women during its coverage of the revolts, El Nossery's work is proof that Egyptian women engaged in the protests and are interested politically, with strong, educated and informed viewpoints. A journalist, activist, translator and business owners were among the women she interviewed, and six of the nine discussed participation at the protests. "Doing the documentary didn't change there were these kinds of women [there], Nossery says. "Egypt is very diverse, and to share this image with others by being a facilitator, or a bridge between [the] two cultures." Even so, El Nossery admits to her own revelations during the interviews for the erate women were engaged in the political arena; this was a nice discovery for me," they aren't educated at all, they couldn't write or read, yet they had strong and emotional political opinions." While many women and men deal with are misconceptions about women's roles in society. According to El Nossery, the daily lives of Egyptian middle-class women are comparable to their Midwest counterparts with regard to job opportunities and higher education. "Women are gaining more freedom, access to education and getting to decide their own lives and futures more than before," she says. women's revolution, not only a political one. Women were engaged and talk about politics all the time and have something only a revolution from the political point of view, but also a revelation or revolution for women." NOVEMBER 2013 | BRAVAMAGAZINE.COM 57

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Brava - November 2013