What do you call an Egyptian girl who works, parties, dates and quotes Carrie Bradshaw – Sarah Jessica Parker’s character in “Sex and the City – as if she were Gandhi? I call her an ordinary girl, like so many other girls living in Cairene society, unable to find a voice they can relate to.
Amy Mowafi’s “sort of book (as she calls it), entitled “Fe-mail: The trials and tribulations of being a Good Egyptian Girl, accurately captures that increasingly suppressed voice.
“I would have loved growing up with an Arab female voice I can relate to, but everything has been suffocated and subdued, she says, “I am not doing anything or saying anything that everyone doesn’t experience. I think we need that so I just went for it.
Selling over 200 copies at Diwan alone two weeks after its launch, the book is apparently what many young ladies were waiting for.
“Fe-mail is a compilation of Mowafi’s monthly columns, which run under the same name in Enigma magazine, one of the leading local glossy society magazines in Egypt.
Her column was originally meant to be highbrow, but it ended up being a fun chat section about the struggles of being part of Cairo’s high society – the pressure, the people and, of course, the men.
Earlier this week, I caught up with the writer to discuss her new publication over a cup of coffee, squeezing the interview into her busy schedule.
The bubbly 27-year-old is overwhelmed with excitement at how well her book is being received. “I was terrified that the only person that will pick it up is my mom, she said before letting out a distinctively vivacious giggle.
Mowafi is 100 percent Egyptian, but was born and raised in London. After studying business at the University of Bath, she moved back to Cairo six years ago to pursue a career in journalism. Soon, she began writing for Enigma and enrolled in the journalism and mass communications master’s program at the American University in Cairo – studying and working fulltime was definitely draining.
Her career advanced until she became the senior editor of the magazine, and Mowafi’s academic studies stalled. She has yet to finish her thesis, which she plans to refocus on one day. “Inshallah, she says, chuckling in that hopeful yet doubtful way Egyptians know all too well.
In the book, Mowafi opens up about her insecurities and reveals her deepest thoughts. By the time you put the book down (it takes about a couple hours to read) you can’t help but develop a kind of affection for her, as if she s an old friend.
Some label her writing as unconventional, even risqué, but Mowafi clearly expresses her respect for tradition, religion and strongly contests premarital sex. Readers should not expect confessions of sexual escapades and stories of crazy party nights, etc.
“I’m saying I would still like to do things properly. I understand our traditions and religion and I’m trying to respect and abide by that, she said.
Despite this attitude, which some detractors may call old-fashioned, Mowafi touches on a more “western kind of lifestyle led by Cairo’s upper middle-class.
“There is temptation out there, she says, “and all of us are stuck in a world between East and West. It’s difficult because we are expected to be international and at the same time we are expected to abide by these traditions. It’s not easy. We are all trying.
Each chapter has a witty title decked with quotes about “bad girls from celebrities like Bette Davis and Dorothy Parker. Each chapter is one of her monthly columns, and together, they present Mowafi’s ideas in the form of a story.
The book has a fairytale-like, happily-ever-after ending, which is actually true. Yes, in the end, she gets the guy.
With a monthly magazine to put out, a pending master’s degree, a book selling like crazy (well, for a society that does not read much), a budding romance and an active social life, Mowafi is still hungry for more. Her planned future conquests include taking on another medium: television.
Perhaps a television series based on “Fe-mail ? It would be a fun challenge, she reckons. Not one to shy away from the camera, Mowafi would also like to be a television presenter.
I highly recommended the book to every Egyptian familiar with the term “hangover, knows where 35 is, and is fed up with hearing every false female claim to be a fallen angel.
The biggest problem with the book is that it ends too fast. At just 94 pages, including the author’s notes, it may be more accurate to call it a booklet.
Then again, some bestsellers have come in small packages.
Though Mowafi s writing may not be high art, it sure is a fun read that will have you laughing all the way. And as Mowafi would say – unlike a good Egyptian girl, do it loudly.
Fe-mail: The trials and tribulations of being a Good Egyptian Girl by Amy Mowafi is available in bookstores across Cairo and Alexandria. Also available on Amazon.com
