On Gender Development: A peak into my life


My school is dominated by females in a male dominated society. In Cairo University (the largest public university in Egypt) the faculty of economics and political sceince is seen to be that of the elites, they tell u when ur a freshmen that ur the cream of the cream. Many ministers and highly acknowledged diplomates graduated from FEPS and thus FEPs students walk with an air that dictates that we are better than everyone else, we are thinkers of a different breed.

However, in Egypt, those graduating with high grades rush into Med. school or engineering and only those who are clueless with regards to what they really want to study or those who have their whole future outlined by their families and the few who actually do have a passion for economics or politics are attracted to the elusiveness of studying at FEPS. And that's why the majority are women, the guys are in engineering whereas the girls choose what will give them a presitgous degree for marrige and societal position when entering the labor market.


But FEPS is a different world to me...one that now that i'm graduating i come to appreciate how through it i came to love women. It's a body of female dreams, hopes and pain. The only school in Cairo Uni. that has a female dean for the first time in Egypt, my freinds who are the top students in class graduating with honours are all girls...do we face discrimination. We definitly do.

But we are empowered to reach beyond. Why? Because we feel the network of supourt, cultural values still prevail in people's minds. I sit in class the girl next to me is either engaged or is already pregnant with her second baby and the girl on the other side is planning how to get a recommendation letter to get her masters from LSE! Activities and clubs pumping into the blood of some while chit chat sounds the room. But what is true in all of it, is that there is always fear in this institution...where do we go from here, and that's what underlies every girls' whisper: will we make it.

We wont be together forever..but we stood together at many times and to overcome any gender disparities in society , the step following awareness of such a gap, is appreciating the power of shared participation in overcoming it.