^ j\ic. s i cj 2. o Representation of Change and Gender Identity: A Study of Women in Egyptian Cinema 1959-1998 Jane Mitchell School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Ph.D. ProQuest Number: 11010314 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11010314 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abstract This thesis identifies the extent to which roles for women in film changed alongside socio-economic shifts and ideological transformations in the country and considers how cultural conditions contribute to the demarcation of gender roles and cultural identity. It analyses the representation of female protagonists in Egyptian films by looking at their position in the narrative structure and their treatment within the filmic discourse. It also examines to what extent this is a reflection of reality with particular emphasis on the position of women in society. It looks at the ancestry of female protagonists but its focus is films made after 1970. Many films made after 1970 present a society in conflict and transition. When President Sadat modified the personal status law in 1979 he was the first Egyptian Head of State to address this highly controversial area of family life since the 1920s. As the public examined the ‘appropriate’ place for women in society, conflicting trends competed for women’s attentions. This thesis illustrates to what extent the films are a reflection of events: if they are a celebration of women’s newly acquired freedom and a rejection of tradition, or if they reflect a move back to patriarchy with the growth of Islamism. In the 1980s women began to emerge as directors and gained access to the symbolic order. Each chapter analyses a pair of films with a similar theme. Where possible, one film is directed by a man and the other by a woman. This thesis, therefore, is also structured as a comparative study of the representation of women on screen by male and female directors. 2 Table of Contents Title Page 1 Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 Preliminary Note 4 Acknowledgements 5 Introduction 6 Chapter 1 64 The Ancestry of Female Protagonists Chapter 2 103 The Rights of Personal Status Chapter 3 143 Women Punished for their Action Chapter 4 181 Triumphant Women Chapter 5 216 Female Friendship Conclusion 254 Filmography 276 Bibliography 285 3 Preliminary Note The standard system of transliteration has been adopted except in words which are familiar to most people in the West such as place names in Egypt, e.g. Port Said, the names of the presidents, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, and titles such as Imam. Arab names and Arabic words in quotations are kept in their original form. The final ta ’m arbuta is marked as a except in an idafa construction where it appears as t. The first reference to books and journals written in Arabic will include the title in Arabic and the English translation. All subsequent references will use the English translation only. Names of Arab authors of critical studies written in English are given in the form in which they appear and not in transliteration. All films in this thesis have been produced in Egypt unless otherwise stated. The first reference made to Egyptian films will include the title in Arabic, the English translation, the director’s name, and the year of production. All subsequent references will use the English translation only. The following abbreviations have been used: AWSA for Arab Women’s Solidarity Association; EFU for Egyptian Feminist Union; UN for United Nations; VCR for video cassette recorder. 4 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB) for the Postgraduate Award I received from them. I would also like to thank my supervisor, Professor Sabry Hafez, for his guidance and support during the research and writing of this thesis. Special thanks to Christian and Amanda for their insightful comments at various stages of my research. Introduction Studying women in any society is an integral part of understanding that culture.1 The continued redefinition of the role of women in Egyptian society has always been inextricably linked to the changing social, political and economic factors of the times. The changing position of Egyptian women in society and culture is fundamental to the understanding of Egyptian feminism. Egyptian feminisms, therefore, must be defined within the context of the Egyptian experience. Feminism denotes both a consciousness, based on the awareness that women suffer discrimination because of their sex, and a social movement, that is, actual attempts to change these inequalities and overcome domination by patriarchal systems.2 Unsettling a common claim that ‘feminism is Western’, Margot Badran, in her studies on Egyptian feminism, demonstrates how the Egyptian feminist movement in the first half of the twentieth century advanced the nationalistic cause and worked within the parameters of Islam. Combining feminist struggle with anti-colonialist conflict suggests Egyptian feminism is closer to that of Third World countries than to that of the West.3 Some Third World women then, question the term ‘feminism’, which originated in the West, because Western feminist movements define the meaning of gender in terms of middle class, white experience. Thus, in post-colonial, Arab, Muslim societies the term conjures up many stereotypes. In her study of the Egyptian women’s movement, Secularism, Gender and the State in the Middle East , Nadje Al-Ali uses the term ‘women’s activism’ rather than ‘feminism’ because many of the 1 1 Soha Abdel Kader, Egyptian Women in a Changing Society 1899-1987(Boulder and London, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1987), 7 2 Nadje Al-Ali, Gender Writing/Writing Gender: The Representation o f Women in a Selection of Modem Egyptian Literature (Cairo, American University in Cairo Press, 1994), 5 3 Margot Badran, ‘Independent Women: More than a Century of Feminism in Egypt’, in Judith Tucker, ed., Arab Women: Old Boundaries New Frontiers (Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana University Press, 1993), 130 6 women she interviewed rejected the label ‘feminist’ for pragmatic and ideological reasons: The English term ‘feminist’ evokes antagonism and animosity, and sometimes even anxiety, among a great number of women activists, who seem to have eternalised the way feminists are being portrayed in prevailing Egyptian discourses: men- hating, aggressive, possibly lesbian (but most likely to be obsessed with sex) and certainly westernised. The reluctance of many Egyptian women to identify themselves with feminism is not only related to its negative image in society, but is also linked to the conviction that it detracts from such ‘larger issues’ as imperialism, class struggle and Zionism.4 The history of Egyptian feminism has traditionally been grounded in charitable social work but with time many women have participated directly in political activities in an attempt to change women’s lives. Azza Karam has identified three main types of feminist thought operating in Egypt today: secular feminism, Muslim feminism and Islamist feminism, highlighting the multiplicity of voices through which Egyptian women activists speak and act.5 Differences among the groups include social backgrounds and political convictions. Nevertheless, it is important to see the commonalities of their struggles and goals despite their varied means. As a general conceptual framework I have chosen to use the term feminism in its broadest sense to mean any demands for change in the position of women. The Oxford English-Arabic Dictionary o f Current Usage translates feminist as ‘someone who advocates equal rights for men and women’ and feminism as ‘the belief in the equality of the sexes’. The principles of feminism address the essence of patriarchy, a system of male authority, which oppresses women through its social, 4 Nadje Al-Ali, Secularism, Gender and the State in the Middle East: The Egyptian Women’s Movement (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000), 4-5 5 Azza Karam, Women, Islamists and the State: Contemporary Feminisms in Egypt (Hampshire and London, Macmillan Press, 1998), 6 7 political and economic policies. In this thesis, therefore, I have used the term ‘feminist’ to describe any individual or group that is aware of the restrictions placed upon women because of their gender and has attempted to remove these constraints through thought and action. The introduction is divided into three parts. The first part outlines the reality of women’s lives in Egypt from the end of the nineteenth century to the present - a chronological account from seclusion and veiling, through early feminist thought, nationalism, social activism, a return to the veil, and current feminist activism. It pays particular attention to the consequences of government policy that affected the lives of women under the rule of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak. The second part is a summary of the film industry in Egypt with particular reference to the role of women on and off screen. The focus is women producers and directors, and films with female protagonists. The final part outlines and accounts for the structure of the thesis. 1. Women in Egypt Early in the nineteenth century Muhammad ‘All broke with Ottoman control and established himself as ruler of Egypt. He embarked on a programme of ‘modernisation.’ He built a strong army, initiated industrialisation schemes, created modem health and education systems, set up the country’s first printing press and made urban improvements.