Public display of emotions defies Egypt’s traditions
BANNERS PROCLAIMING LOVE OR MOLLIFYING ESTRANGED SPOUSES BECOMING COMMON
Passers-by in an Egyptian Delta province this week were struck by a banner, proclaiming an anonymous man’s love for a girl whose first name was mentioned inside a painted heart.
The banner hung near an engineering school in Menuf province was the latest in a series of banners and billboards springing up in several areas of Egypt, challenging the largely conservative society’s traditions that frown upon showing love in public. In rural areas, a public love affair between a man and a woman can trigger a family feud.
At angry locals’ request, municipal authorities usually remove such banners.
While the contested pronouncements are believed to be mostly the work of youngsters, there are some cases involving husbands asking for the forgiveness of their estranged wives. The lovestricken men have rarely been identified. However, these banners are proving divisive.
“I think men who act like this are rash,” said a 23-yearold commerce school student, who gave her name only as Tahani. “This is aimed at attracting people’s attention. ■ ■ Even if the emotions expressed in these banners are true, they can cause a scandal to the other partner, who is in all cases a girl, or a woman. Love and marital life are so private that they should not be a public issue.”
Tamer Hashem, an art student, disagreed. “Each generation has its own way of expressing emotions,” the 22-year-old man argued. “Our generation is one that rejects social hypocrisy. What’s wrong with a man telling his girl he loves her in the strongest way: In public?”
Last year, the provincial state university of Tanta investigated a female student after she was seen hugging her fiancé on the campus at a party organised by her colleagues to celebrate their engagement. A disciplinary board punished her by not allowing her to take the examination in one subject.
Some experts believe going public with love in defiance of local traditions reflects the influence of cinema.
“Heroes in some popular Egyptian and foreign films have done this on screen. People, especially teenagers, tend to be influenced by the behaviour of their favourite actors,” said Fareed Shukry, a psychologist.
“Feelings of love are supposed to be concealed between the couple. When they become a public affair, they lose their privacy, which is often favoured by females in the Middle Eastern societies,” Shukry told Gulf News.
Tamer Hashem | Student