In response to the article published in the previous edition, “A Message from Egyptian men to Egyptian Women”, it was only fair to see what Egyptian women had to advise Egyptian men.
Please find below a summary of the advices given…
Advices to Single Men:
1. Not every single girl, you meet wants to marry you, there is something called platonic friendship.
2. When you propose to a girl, please do not ask her, how much money she makes, because by asking this question, it makes you seem very materialistic.
3. If you are fooling around with a girl, and lying to her, watch out, as definitely what comes around goes around, someone will come and play you sometime too.
4. Be realistic about your appearance, your humor and your achievements- have some self-awareness please.
5. No, we are not sweet all the time, and anyone who pretends to be is lying.
6. We know some men are cheap, if you are; don’t pretend otherwise, because we will figure it out, and once we do, we will leave you.
7. We may be independent; however, we still expect you to open doors; pay the check and carry our luggage for us.
8. You have to take care of your appearance too, take care of your shoes and your watch- they are considered key indicators.
9. Do not brag about how much money you make, your work or your family roots, you maybe singing to the brain which is not enough, you need to sing to the heart as well.
10. Being responsible, is a word which many Egyptian men lack, it would be great, if you can work on that area.
Advices to Married Men:
1. Please brush your teeth often, yes, the male mouth is capable of releasing bad odor too.
2. When your wife is not sick or dying, believe it or not, she still needs tenderness and care, this will not make you any less of a man.
3. Single women, do not appreciate your flirting; so do try to behave, because the women you flirt with will probably regard you as disloyal.
4. Do not take sides when there is an issue between your mother and your wife.
5. Shouting in arguments leads you to nowhere.
6. We love that you are protective and take care of our safety, please continue to do so.
7. It is culturally legal to give gifts to your wife even after you are married.
8. Please do remember, if your wife is occupied with the children, these are yours too, she did not buy them from the supermarket on her own- you had a role in the process.
9. Although Egypt has a huge population, if you do cheat on your wife, you will always be caught (sometime or another). There will always be “ibn el hala”l or “bent el halal” who will reveal your secret, and through the strong gossip channels established – it will eventually reach your wife.
10. Your mother does not need to interfere in our fights, please do not be a Mama’s boy.
Advices to Divorced Men:
1. Yes, you did have a bitter experience, and your wife might have cheated on you, lied to you or was simply not the right match for you, but please do not take it out on us. We are not all your ex-wife.
2. Life does go on, and marriages can actually work, do try again, with optimism.
3. If you are a divorcee, and looking for a wife, you cannot say, I do not want to marry a divorced woman, because the same will be said about you too.
4. If you are going to re-marry again, to someone who has not been married before, do not belittle the importance of having another wedding, or courting for that matter.
5. Not all women are bad.
6. Before you propose to a woman, please make sure you are over your ex-wife and not simply looking for a rebound relationship.
7. Before you re-marry, please try to get rid of the baggage, we do not deserve it.
8. Just because you are hurt and disappointed with marriage, this does not give you a reason to play around and hurt others.
9. Learn to love again.
10. Like you told us, we want to tell you: have faith and hope for the future.
Dear Egyptian men, I hope you did not find that too harsh. At the end of the day, we Egyptian women still prefer you over men from any where else in the world- for our Grandfathers are Egyptian, our fathers are Egyptians and our children will also be Egyptian.
