deenashirb

Having incorrectly and vaguely labelled 'Cairo 678' a 'feminist movie', I was pleasantly surprised to have all my misconceptions quashed in such a subtle and articulate manner. Yes, Cairo 678 is a film about 'women's plight' in Egypt but also an important commentary on the class structure inherent in most societies but particularly stark in Cairo where gleaming BMWs travel alongside over-heated, bursting buses where sexual harassment is inevitably common place, as depicted in the film. Feyza is a working-class mother struggling to pay her children's school fees and to fend off her husband's sexual advances. It soon becomes apparent that her tardiness to work is simply a result of her desperate attempts to avoid the over-crowded buses where she is routinely molested by over-eager male passengers. She soon befriends Seba, a wealthy self- defence teacher whom we learn was raped a year earlier, as well as a middle class student (Nelly) whose life-threatening assault results in a historic first legal case for sexual harassment in Egypt.

What binds these women together is a frustration at the unashamed impunity to these men's actions and society's pretend ignorance about their daily struggle to walk down Cairo's streets without harassment. However, the film also points to a greater problem inherent in Egypt's societal structure where the struggle to attain money, power and status take precedence over morality and the fostering of positive and fulfilling life plans and relationships. Nelly is encouraged to drop her court case by her family to protect her reputation, Seba is advised not to report the rape by her mother to preserve her powerful father's reputation and Feyza is forced to continue taking the bus to salvage enough money to pay her children's school fees. All three women appreciate the farcical nature of the attitudes they are subjected to, yet the barriers to mounting a justified response emotionally or in action seem insurmountable. A common thread explored in the film is the hippocracy and confusion regarding the issue of sexual harassment which is a relevant issue in both traditional and 'westernised' cultures. Should women shoulder the blame if they are a victim of harassment, and if not, why does guilt and shame always play such a large role in the aftermath?

A survey conducted by Haven, a sexual assault centre found that more than half of women thought that rape victims are sometimes to blame for the crime. So, it seems that the fight to reconfigure perceptions of sexual harassment and assault extend to both women and men, an issue painfully and clearly demonstrated in Cairo 678 when Seba questions Reyza's lack of guilt after she secretly starts stabbing the men who molest her in retaliation. Reyza responds by explaining that she conducts herself modestly and covers her hair so she has no reason to feel guilty, unlike Seba who leaves her hair loosely flowing and wears tight clothes and so is in some way to blame for any unwanted advances. The impact of these frustrations and violations extends to the women's intimate relationships with the men in their lives.

To Reyza, Seba and Nelly, it seems that the men in their lives are just as guilty of the rampant sexualisation of the predators and the hippocracy of society as a whole and it seems that at times they find it impossible to differentiate between the two. The director effectively demonstrates how the daily grind of constantly being on guard and dealing with eroticisation wears the women down and creates a dichotomy in which the women struggle with the desire for revenge and justice, coupled with the pressure to conform to social expectations. However, the strength and originality of the film's vision lies in it's willingness to give the balanced view where men are not wholly villainised; that would be far too easy. Men's exposure to a new-found culture of open sexualisation of women and the mirage of availability is sensitively portrayed, in conjunction with the financial barriers to marriage. The idea of marriage being a cultural protective factor for the male population with regards to sexual harassment and 'deviance' is also challenged with an unexpected twist to the plot.

In all, Cairo 678 wonderfully depicts a society in which sexual assault and harassment divide opinion and attitude in both public and personal life, more than simply down the lines of gender. As societies struggle with the changing and more proactive role of women in daily life along with evolving imagery involving female sexuality and availability, an open and dynamic forum is required to challenge long-standing and held deeply beliefs about blame, stigma and shame. Feyza, Reza and Nelly's experiences convincingly and emotively demonstrate the painful and costly consequences of avoiding such discussion.