Description
“Hashem: My opinion is as I told you, Your Excellency; the prevailing sentiment now is about women’s freedom and rights. The matter is entirely in the hands of the woman herself! Your Excellency, just wait, she will eventually choose a groom herself.”
The beginning of the twentieth century witnessed numerous feminist movements striving for women’s liberation, advocating for their education and entry into the workforce. Because these movements were new to Egyptian society at the time, they faced opposition from many who expressed their concerns, including our great writer Tawfiq al-Hakim, who believed that these movements would lead to women’s unveiling and, consequently, destabilize Egyptian society. This concern motivated him to write this play, which he penned in a humorous and satirical style, discussing many of the social phenomena affecting Egyptian women at that time and their impact on social conditions through the character of “Layla.” The nineteen-year-old girl, whose father, Mahmoud Bey, insists on marrying her off to absolve himself of responsibility for her, faces fierce resistance from his daughter, who is brimming with modern ideas. What will become of their relationship?
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