Ask most Americans how they feel about people from the Middle East and you will get a plethora of comments from indifference to fear of terrorism.  Like many Americans I bought into the idea that people in the Middle East don’t value women as highly as men.  Because our media portrays the idea that women are subjugated under men and are forced to wear head scarves and burkas as a way to demonstrate their subservience, I was expecting to feel less respected in a Muslim country.

We were proven wrong in Egypt.  The first University we visited was the Higher Institute of Social Work.  The dean of the college was a woman.  The welcoming presentation was put on by women.

One of the most important aspects of this trip was the opportunity to interact and learn from other students.  It was really interesting to learn that women are encouraged to go to college and work outside the home while still maintaining the household.     The status of women in Muslim countries is nothing like I previously thought.  The status of women is in Egypt’s national agenda: in response to the on-going population and food crisis President Mubarak is attempting to raise the status of women and decrease illiteracy.  While it is to be noted that Egypt is a “liberal” Islamic country it provides a comfortable status for women and other countries will possibly follow.

While we realize now that the media’s representation of the Middle East as a hate-mongering society that devalues women is just a tactic of war, we also need to understand that they face the same distortion.  Some of the students were nervous to meet us as well because we, as American women, are portrayed as rude and immoral.  You could see our relief reflected in their eyes when both sides realized we are so very similar.

I know that many of us have made lasting friendships with various students and young people we encountered and the insights we gained from their friendships were invaluable.  The only way future generations can work together to solve global issues is to break from the imprisonment of our old ideas and evolve our understanding of the other culture.  The sooner we can recognize each other as sister cultures the greater chance we all have for a more amicable globe.

By: Kathleen Riffe