June 22, 2003
Cairo
Culture Shock

Today I learned that most women in Egypt have had their clitoris removed. It made me want to throw up. It made me think that every woman I passed on the street has a big ugly scar where her clitoris once was. It made me want to go home. Of course I was aware of the practice of female genital mutilation in Africa and in some Islamic countries but I had always thought Egypt to be on the more liberal and modern side. Amnesty international has been addressing this issue. The issue is a hard one to address because it is often not a practice sactioned by the government of a country, but instead performed in the private sector and usually not by doctors which means without anaesthetic as well. The result is often severe infection, hemorrhaging, shock, infertility and death. Some may say that Amnesty International should mind its own business because this is a cultural issue and they shouldn't try to impose their cultural attitudes on others but I think it's more a human rights issue. I think people have the right to not have their bodies mutilated against their will. And it is against their will as this story describes.

On to a lighter subject...

Yesterday Meeso and I were sitting in a park on the grass, minding our own business of course. I was reclining on my back, propped up on my elbows. A guy who worked in the park came over and spoke to Meeso in Arabic. Apparently he didn't think it was ladylike of me to sit that way and thought Meeso should inform me of my gross ignorance of social rules. We both found this to be terribly funny.

I purposely continued sitting the way I was even though it was getting uncomfortable. I sat that way for as long as I could and then changed to sitting cross legged. I happened to be wearing a babydoll tshirt and because of the position I was sitting in, the shirt pulled up in the back a little bit, exposing part of my lower back. The man whose job description was apparenly paying entirely too much attention to the way women sit, came over again and informed Meeso in Arabic that my back was showing. I wonder if he was expecting me to suddenly become ashamed and embarassed upon learing this, thank him graciously, and quickly cover the offending skin.

Again, Meeso and I thought this was hysterical and I attempted to figure out just which positions a women is not supposed to sit in. I thought perhaps there should be a book for foreign women in which every sitting position in existence is labled proper or improper. It could be titled How To Sit So As Not To Offend Repressed and Grumpy Old Men Who Have Nothing Better To Do Than To Become Offended and Grumpy By The Way You Are Sitting: An Illustrated Manual For the Foreign Woman In Egypt. Or perhaps that's too long.. Ol' dude came over a THIRD time to helpfully suggest that perhaps I would find it more comfortable to sit leaning up against a tree. Comfortable for whom ? The tree in question was crawling with ants.