Présentation de l'éditeur
What happened to a former Miss Egypt when she took to wearing the veil under her pilot's cap? Who are the young people posting videos of policemen torturing crime suspects? Where do Coptic Christians celebrate the Holy Family's journey to Egypt? Why is President Hosni Mubarak still ruling Egypt, virtually uncontested, after more than 25 years in power? In Hold on to Your Veil, Fatima!;, author Sanna Negus answers these questions and more, taking the reader on a journey into 21st-century Egypt. As a reporter, Ms Negus witnessed Egypt's political opening after the Iraq war, the subsequent quelling of the Cairo Spring, and the growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. In addition to politics, the author discusses the thorny issue of relations between the sexes, listens to Copts' grievances about the worsening relations between Muslims and Christians, and reveals an appalling human rights record. On the brighter side, she also visits oriental dancers and authors who defy censorship. While Egyptians joke about the longevity of their president, there is no doubt that Egypt is a nation waiting for a new, uncertain dawn. "Hold on to Your Veil, Fatima!" relies heavily on primary sources, on the words and experiences of extraordinary Egyptian men and women, as well as the author's personal encounters as a Western woman. Intimate stories are woven together with historical narratives and news events. This is the other side of Egypt, an intriguing modern nation a long way removed from the pyramids and temples visited by most visitors to the country.
Revue de presse
Hold onto Your Veil, Fatima! And Other Snapshots of Life in Contemporary Egypt; by Finland-based author Sanna Negus is a far cry from the many meaningless tales of local lifestyles by foreign journalists in and arouna the Arabian Peninsula... Cairo is a place we are all familiar with superficially, even if it is only through the ubiquitous representation of the pyramids and the Sphinx. Negus takes us deeper into this ancient city, convinced that it remains the key to the future of the benighted Middle East. The insight Negus gives into the workings of Egypt sets the mood of an interesting narrative. This is a break from the bitter political analysis and religious slandering that many correspondents subject Egypt to. Sanna Negus, a reporter for Finland Radio, came to the Middle East in the mid-' 99as for graduate studies in Cairo; fundamentally for the reason that she wanted to acquire an unusual language and figured Arabic fit the bill. She ended up writing a book that has been defined as an expose of contemporary Egypt that's at once harrowing and humorous. Through the book, the reader experiences the sights and sounds of Cairo, and the social norms that are part of the city today. Cairo is a place we are all familiar with superficially, even if it is only through the ubiquitous representation of the pyramids and the Sphinx. Negus takes us deeper into this ancient city, convinced that remains the key to the future of the benighted Middle East. One step at a time, the book comprehensively deals with any question that might have ever crossed one's mind about life in Cairo. Starting with how, why and to what extent Islam is revered amidst the Egyptians, she explains the significance of Islamic fundamentalism, which has spread like wildfire. Religion has been usurped as a political tool, a fact that Negus manages to expose quite coherently. Once the reader has enough understanding to be able to relate to the religious zeal of Egyptian society, Negus proceeds to answer the question she herself has been asked persistently: Friends always asked me what it was like to live there as a woman: Taking the next step in this tour of Cairo, Negus takes the situation of women and dedicates much of the bock to the women she met in her time there. She also gives an account of her own experiences of being subjected to groping by the 'notoriously lecherous little me
