Women of the United States vs. Women of Egypt: Rough Draft
Marina P. Youssef
Elements of University Composition and Communication I
October 10, 2012
Professor Hope Umansky
University of Phoenix

Women of Egypt vs. Women of the United States The similarities between the women of Egypt and the women of the United States (U.S.) are almost non-existent but for the fact that they equally want freedom and women’s rights. The differences are almost tenfold greater. Although there are many differences between the women of Egypt and the women of the U.S., the most outstanding distinctions are in their manner of dress, their role in society, and in their treatment by men.
One of the common distinctions in women living in the United States and women living in Egypt is in their styles of clothing. Most Muslim women in Egypt veil themselves, covering everything from their head down to their toes, sometimes even wearing gloves to cover their hands and heavy veils over the eyes. By law, the Christian women and “modern Muslim” women are required to dress modestly, whether it be summer or winter. They wear long, loose skirts or pants, and shirts with sleeves no shorter than a few inches above the elbows. It is a daily struggle for these women, risking being harassed or molested in the streets. The veiled women in particular have victoriously won the freedom of painting the nails on their exposed fingers, and wearing open-toe shoes or sandals. Conversely, women of the United States have the freedom to dress however they please. They also dress appropriately to the season, with no laws or regulations stating how long sleeves should be or how loose their pants should be worn.
In the United States, there is no such thing as the “Fashion Police” to enforce those non-existent rules and hand out tickets along with harsh words to “violators.” On the flip side, in Egypt the “Fashion Police” conceal themselves in the shadows of popular youth hang-out spots, malls, and random street corners and alleys to “catch the evil wrongdoers.” Women of the U.S. are blessed with the freedoms they have, with the police not even noticing or caring what anyone wears. Another obvious difference between the two groups of women is their role in society. The Egyptian constitution states that men and women are equal, as long as this equality does not violate Islamic laws. Not surprisingly, this article in the constitution is not practiced often. Equality and freedom for women in Egypt is, as they say, the elephant in the room, a giant one at that. In Egypt, males are essentially the more dominant sex, and play a more prominent role, even in modern times. Women tend to be more behind-the-scenes, with the general concept of “Women should be seen and not heard” ringing brashly throughout the country. Alternately, women in the U.S. are more independent and seem to hold their own. Unlike Egypt, the U.S. promotes equality of both men and women, giving the women of the country the ability to hold high, prestigious positions, and to freely voice their opinions without running the risk of being looked down upon. Nonetheless, women living in modern day Egypt have succeeded in gaining the freedom to vote, hold higher ranks in government jobs, and publicly and freely demonstrating against what they do not believe in throughout the busy streets of their motherland. The final and most distinctive quality between the two cultures of women is in their treatment by the males of their country. The women in Egypt are not always treated well by men in general, let alone husbands, fathers, and brothers. The uneducated concept with most of the population is that before marriage, a woman must accept the dependency of her father and brothers, which is then again surrendered to the husband after marriage. They are also forbidden from associating with men outside of the family both before and after marriage. Women are to solely take care of the household, the kids, and their husbands, while the man works and makes decisions regarding the entire family. This is usually because marriages are not often based on love, but on arrangements made between the two families from an early age, or even on financial gain. Male children are taught by their fathers from a young age to scorn their mother and their sisters, with the attitude of “you are the man, you are the king, they are the women, they do everything to serve you” being planted in their minds. Very rarely is a woman asked for her opinion, and a female who is outspoken is looked upon as a bad influence, or even a “lady of the night,” a phrase commonly used to refer to women working in prostitution.
Contrarily, a woman in the U.S. is raised to formulate her own ideas and opinions, to voice them publically, and to think for themselves. Whether there be fathers, brothers, husbands, or other male family members, females and males alike are taught independence from a very young age. Dating is encouraged when it comes to choosing a future partner, and mingling between the two sexes is a commonly accepted practice. After marriage or other arrangements happen, the women and men both tend to share equally in the household and in raising their children, unless a mutual agreement is reached between the two. Husbands and wives make major decisions together, whether regarding the whole family or the individual members of that family. All points of view are usually taken into consideration before a typically unanimous conclusion is reached. Marriages in the U.S. are customarily based on love, with arranged marriages being frowned upon and not generally accepted among the populace. Clearly, the differences between Egyptian women and women from the United States are many. Whether it is the style of their clothing, whether they are heard or just seen, or whether they marry for love or security, the dissimilarities are obvious. Women of the U.S. are often envied by those of Egypt for the small freedoms that they have and are often taken for granted, with examples being that they may dress however they please, they are able to speak their opinion without all of the public scrutiny, and probably the most envied right of being loved by their significant others and male children. Nevertheless, they are all women striving for their own forms of personal happiness and success.