All Egyptian mother’s recognise the struggles of raising a son in Egypt. When asked how they plan on raising their sons to avoid creating men that fits all of the negative stereotypes of the Egyptian man, our mom’s in The Mommy Club had a lot to say:
Mirelle Nashaat- “I don’t care whether he will get ridiculed for expressing his feelings or for replicating the stereotypical Egyptian toughness, I want him to act his own way. For me, I would teach him how to be sweet and gentle with girls, but not so sentimental, and a bit tough to have control over the relationship. Mature men understand that expressing love is healthy for a relationship to last longer. So I would go for a mixture of both. I would also teach him that ladies should be treated right and to marry the girl whom he loves and can’t live without and not to marry for the sake of marriage to live a better life.”
Nadine Badr- “We’ve stayed away from gender stereotypes since the day he was born, from choosing nursery colors to baby gadgets and toys. When he grows up, he will not only be a man but also he may be somebody’s husband and father. This means we encourage him to express emotions. Anyone who is able to identify and validate their emotions is brave and courageous. I cultivate in him kindness and empathy. People with empathy are happy, well-adjusted and have strong interpersonal connections. More empathy is what the world truly needs.”
Mai Hashem– “I want him to be a true man. I hate the stereotype of the Egyptian man. Why can’t they express their feelings?! I haven’t seen my dad crying except for a few times, but why not? He cried when my grandmother passed away, he cried when we got terribly sick of had to go to a surgery. Still I have seen from my dad all the feelings emotions that he could provide us with. Why can’t they show feelings? A man is not less of a man if he shows that he loves his wife. A man is not less than a man if he cooks or cleans or cares for his child. Yes, I want my boy to be strong, responsible and a leader, but I also want him to support his family in all aspects, help in cooking, cleaning, taking care of his children, providing them with all the love, care and feelings. That will definitely require him to show his own emotions and feelings.”
Sylvia Hany- “I believe it’s all about his character in the first place, if he’s somehow tough or strong by nature, I would try to teach him empathy and how to be kind to others and care about them. On the other hand if he’s emotional and sensitive by nature I would try to teach him how to face situations and how to be able to defend his emotions and self. But trying to change the kid’s nature makes him feel unaccepted as himself and sometimes he can feel guilty if I keep stressing that he shouldn’t be as he is and that he’s not the way I wanted him to feel. On the contrary, when the child is able to show and express his emotions, that’s a good sign for healthy psychology and healthy relationships with others.”
Omneia Abouloyoun- “I am raising a human, not a robot! This is what I want my son to grow up to be, a human! In order to enjoy the joy of happiness you have to experience and react to sadness and pain. Our prophet used to cry, so why not my son, or any other man. I want my son to grow up and be a great husband and a great father. And I want him to be able to love so he can understand the love he is receiving from others. I seriously don’t understand why crying or being emotional is a girly thing. And I seriously would love our community to save the next generation and not turn them into bastards. And simply, the more emotionless men will be, will affect how women react, so the generation that they both will raise will end up being robots, which is so sad.”
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