By: Nourhan Ghanem

I think we’ve all heard about the Esraa Ghareeb incident labeled as an honor killing, but for those of you who don’t know, Esraa Ghareeb is a 21 year old Palestinian girl, she dreamt about being a makeup artist and had great potential and ambition to do so. The story started when Esraa got engaged, she asked for her mother’s permission to go out and meet her fiancée with her sister at a restaurant , to you know get to know the person she’s going to marry علي كتاب الله و سنة رسوله and spend the rest of her life with. She posted a story on her Instagram with all three of them in it at the restaurant, but her cousin Reham Ghareeb went to her father and brothers and went on about how Esraa was bringing shame to the family and it wasn’t only this outing with her fiancée that was causing it but also her makeup and how she dressed was also something that brought disgrace to the family.

This led to her father gathering her brothers and her male cousins and uncles and beating her up, and in her attempt to escape she fell down the stairs and broke her spinal cord. She was rushed to the hospital and even there she was beat up, her screams filled the hospital corridors and guess what? None of the nurses or doctors did anything at all. The people who made an oath to help people who were sick and in need of their help left the woman who suffered under their hospital’s roof. One of the nurses even recorded her screams. Reham told Esraa about what she did but it was too late. The family claimed that the girl was possessed and that her sister’s husband, el sheikh Mohamed el Safy, was exorcising the demon out of her. She was to have surgery that day but she died beforehand. Her brother who was in Canada said he would kill her when he heard about it from her father and guess what they all did.

Esraa wasn’t the only one, she was only one of the 100,000 women who die every year due to so called honor killings, one of the many women who could have changed this world, who had ambitions and dreams, who had potential, but were killed because their family members claimed the right of murdering them for honor. 

What makes Esraa’s story different than all these women is that her story surfaced and theirs hasn’t.

Qandeel Baloch was one of Pakistan’s first social media celebrities, she was bold, outspoken, controversial, she challenged the idea that a woman’s purpose was to marry a man whom her family chose and spent the rest of her life as an obedient wife. But sadly this woman suffered the same fate as Esraa, she was drugged and strangled by her brother. “Girls were born to stay at home and follow tradition, but my sister never did that “ he told journalists after the murder “ I’m proud of what I’ve done”

These monsters use tradition and religion as an excuse to murder human beings, their sisters!! Their own blood! And these scumbags feel proud for committing one of the biggest sins in religion, but we can’t just blame the murderer, they do have demons, some of these demons happen to be humans like our fire-starter Reham Gharib who’s gossip cost Esraa her life .

Rest In Peace Esraa Gharib . 

Rest In Peace Qandeel Baloch . 

May god have mercy on every beautiful soul who became a victim of honor killings and gossip.

By: Malak el-Mansy

When you love someone, you don’t love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility.

It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity—in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern. The only real security isn’t in owing or processing, not in demanding or expecting, not in hoping, even.

Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what it was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now. For relationships too, must be like islands. One must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits—islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea, continually visited and abandoned by the tides.

For couples so eager to call it quits and throw in the towel on your relationship because everything isn’t ‘perfect’…here is some food for thought. Lifelong commitment is not what most people think it is. It’s not waking up every morning to make breakfast and eat together. It’s not cuddling until you fall asleep. It’s not a clean home filled with laughter.

It’s someone who steals all the covers, and snores, it’s stubbornly disagreeing and giving each other the silent treatment until your hearts heal, and then forgiveness.

It’s coming home to the same person every day that you know loves and cares about you in spite of and because of who you are. It’s laughing about the one time you accidentally did something stupid. It’s about dirty laundry and unmade beds. It’s about helping each other with the hard work of life.

It’s about swallowing the nagging words instead of saying them out loud. It’s about eating the easiest meal you can make and sitting down together at a late hour because you both had a crazy day. It’s when you have an emotional breakdown and your love lays down with you and holds you, and tells you everything is going to be ok. And you believe them. It’s about still loving someone even though sometimes they make you absolutely insane.

Loving someone isn’t always easy, sometimes it’s hard. But it is amazing and comforting and one of the best things you will ever experience.

By: Malak Negm

Have you spent all your eideya money and savings in sahel? For those who didn’t, I bring to you guys this weeks super fun things to do in Cairo! Because, seriously, haven’t we all experienced these frequent conversations?

– 3awez ta3mal eh yum el khames?

= “sighs”, msh 3aref enta 3awz te3mal eh?

– msh 3aref, ahwa?

= ahwa.

Here’s a list to help free you from boredom:

1. Take a Nile Cruise:

A must do in Cairo is to sail the Nile River aboard a Nile Cruise, commonly known as Felucca. They are perfect for catching the breeze on a hot summer night, for brisker sails the rest of the year and watching the sunset anytime, moreover they are ideal for an impromptu party after work and for soothing the tots. You will find many boats (Feluccas) docked in Maadi, and Zamalek neighborhoods, and trust me the best time is at sunset!

2. Go and spend a day in an Amusement park:

One of the most important reasons people visit amusement parks these days is because it allows the creation of one of a kind memories for both families and friends. i personally find amusement parks a different way for people to interact with each other in an environment only dedicated to fun. And one of Egypt’s best amusement parks is “Al Azhar Park”.

3. Adrenalin Park:

Release the warrior inside you! Its an amusement park that hosts the #1 Paintball Venue in North Africa, It also hosts Aqua Fights and Outdoors Laser Fights. Its a different experience that allows you to undergo a real battle in a safe and fun environment.

4. Escape room games:

It is challenging, educational and of course fun! You will get 60 minutes to solve puzzles, riddles and mysteries in a room. The goal is simple yet challenging: get out in time! They offer several themed rooms, each one designed to be filled with elaborate logic puzzles that you need to solve in order to escape! And these are Cairo’s escape room:(Sherlocked, Trapped, Escape room, Escapers and Break out)

5. Room Art space and cafe:

It’s said to be an evolving and ever changing performing space and cafe. It’s a place where you can find professional and aspiring performers and artists (as well as lovers of the arts). The room’s stage hosts movie screenings, art performances, karaoke, Live music, stand up comedy and open mic events! A place to collaborate and share ideas and also have fun at!

Yes, we all need change from time to time, and we all wanna have fun, aren’t we? cause guess what? Fun gives us strength to go further! 

While all of us are probably worrying about Miley and Liam’s divorce, the latest movies out in the cinema, and the next trip to Sahel before school. We forget that some people’s worries are wether they’re gonna survive to see another day or not. Recently, we all turned our profile pictures to blue to help raise awareness about the incidents happening in Sudan, but now another country suffers the same fate. 

Kashmir has been in this custody battle between India and Pakistan since 1947. But in the past few weeks, there has been a heightened amount of repression in Kashmir. There has been an additional troop deployment of 350,000 troops aside from the existing 500,000 troops. And if you don’t know Kashmir is one of the most militarized regions in the world.

– There has been an imposition of curfew.

– The army has physically taken over schools and college buildings. 

– All businesses and public offices have been closed.

– There is a ban on public gathering and all pro freedom leaders have been detained.

– Internet and communication have been o clamp down meaning that parents cannot communicate with their children and families have lost touch with each other, unable to check on one another’s safety. 

– India is creating this atmosphere of fear and anxiety in Kashmir. 

And this recent repression is not the only way the people from Kashmir have been suffering, multiple people were severely injured, raped or killed.

Wamiq Farouq , a 13 year old who loved cricket, his love for the game cost him his life, he was killed by Indian forces while playing cricket. He was buried with two cricket balls as tribute to his talent. The Indian court set his murderers on bail. 

Hiba Jan, an 18 months old girl, was sitting in her mother’s arms when her eyes were ruptured by pellets fired by forces in her arm, she was too young to express her pain. Pellets hit her mother while she was trying to shield her baby. 

Mubeena Ghani . On May 18 , 1990 , she was to get married . She was wearing an orange bridal dress , hand hennad and ready for her big day. But her dreams were shattered as security personnel opened fire on their bus, injuring the newlyweds, she was raped on her wedding night. 

The stories I’ve just shared with you are only a few of many incidents the Kashmiris have been facing for so many years by the hands of Indian forces. They have been facing inhumane acts for so many years. What I ask of you is to stand with our brothers and sisters in Kashmir, raise awareness and give a voice to those who are forced to be silent and please pray for them to be free from this state of oppression and constant fear . #i_stand_with_kashmir 

By: Habiba Tamer

All body types are appreciated, no matter what they look like or even how it’s shape looks like, it’s appreciated.

Many people shame other people’s bodies, even if they’re thin, fat, or chubby. They just shame people’s body and believe that it will help them lose or gain weight.

What those people don’t know is that body shaming isn’t helping them do any better, it’s just letting them get worse.

Body shaming effects are so harmful. Unfortunately, eating disorders can be caused by a history of being teased or ridiculed based on size or weight. What it means is that when you shame a person’s body because they’re fat or chubby, you didn’t make them stop eating, you made them eat more, angry and sick, which made them worse not even a bit better.

Also, body shaming crushes the self-esteem and confidence of people. Social anxiety often results from a sense of rejection regarding weight or physical attributes. Lots of companies reject people who are fat, it shouldn’t be even a reason to reject people. One of the reasons companies reject fat people is that they aren’t a good representation for their company as they are fat. Really what a reason!

You should deal with body shaming with these three things. First thing is that you should remind yourself of your worth. Yes, your worth, you’re worth it, you can do what ever you can think of and you can deal with your body as it is unique cause why not?

Second, be proud of your body. Your body can make you different and unique. People’s opinions will never define you be proud and have confidence.

Last thing is that you can practice positive self-talk. Talk, think , move, do positive things. Don’t ever think that there’s something that will stop you, think and talk positive.

Anyways body shaming should be stopped for a reason as body shaming is not an encouragement, in no way, it’s not tough love or helpful. It is often judgmental health advice.

The constant mention of a person’s weight creates more stress causing weight gain. The idea that anyone needs to be humiliated into a healthy lifestyle ignores that person’s right to be respected and loved.

If you were body shammed or if you’re facing body shaming you should do the following:

• Ignore them. Ignore the rude comments, you don’t have to respond and responding only gives the person the attention they want. Plus when you don’t respond you give that person a time to think about what they said.

• Don’t let it get to you. Try to detach yourself from their comments and negativity. Imagine a window between you and the other person. You can see that they’re making a negative comment, but the negativity can’t actually reach you.

• Call the person out on it. You don’t have to take rude comments, even if they’re from strangers, and calling a person out may make you feel better about the situation because you’re taking control.

• Don’t stoop to their level. On the internet, it can be tempting to resort to name calling and personal attacks. However, that doesn’t get you anywhere, it just brings you down to their level. Stick to responding to what they say, not attacking them or calling them names.

• Try not to torture yourself by reading the comments. If you are body shamed online, you may find yourself wanting to dive into the comments section. If you re-read those comments, you’re only going to hurt yourself. Instead, try to skip reading the comments you know will be terrible from past experience.

Just remember a small thing, you’re unstoppable, you can do what ever you want. You’re beautiful and unique no matter what.

By: Anonymous

Hello! So, today I am going to walk you through my day. A day in the life of a fat guy/girl. There are these things that we go through, that no one understands.

Morning:

Early Morning: Getting ready for school, thinking of what to eat. “Should I eat healthy to lose some weight, and not look fat?!” “No, no just eat don’t care about what people think of you. The food looks good”. These are things that I say to myself as I wake up.

Late Morning: As the morning passes by I keep trying not to show my stomach, hiding it feeling different and weird. Different people have their ways of hiding their fat, many people wear jackets to do so.

Afternoon: Throughout the whole day when people are looking at you, you try your hardest to hide the fat and show that you’re thin. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. You minimize the food you eat, and don’t sit with people in breaks. You just isolate yourself either in a library or classroom just to not show anyone your body.

Night: Once I return home, I’m in my comfort zone, now I can wear whatever I want and don’t have to hide anything. Most importantly calm down after all the ridicule and shame that I put myself into.

Did you think this was it?!
Now I am going to explain some things.

Firstly, I go through 4 stages throughout the day, I believe other people do too.

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Sadness/Melancholy 4. Acceptance

I start my day with denial, that no I am not fat, I am losing weight and there are millions of others who are fat it is not something weird or different. Then I get angry, how here I am fat and can’t wear nice clothes because of my big size. I can’t move easily, and run longer miles as I get out of breath and start to get tired. This leads to my sadness, where I keep thinking that “Oh my god, I’m going to stay like this all my life” “No one will ever like me” etc… Lastly, I accept my state. I accept that I am fat, and that I can live with it. I can improve. I can live a better life. God made me fat for a reason. I can do this.

Some motivation to all you fatty buddies:

Don’t you dare think that because you’re fat this means you’re any less than those thin guys or girls. You are perfect in every way, you are beautiful in the inside and out. Your weight doesn’t shape who you are as a human being, your weight doesn’t control your life. The word ‘fat’ is said to us a lot, don’t let that get you. Yes being fat sucks, with all the criticism and ridicule, on top of that all your own problems and stress. But don’t let that make you lose hope and make you feel depressed. There is still hope in this world, there are kind people who will compliment you along the way. Some people just can’t lose weight, it’s not their problem. Some people can lose weight but are lazy, don’t be! Wake up, exercise, eat healthy, and keep that positive spirit going. Don’t hide your body! By time, I learnt that you should not give a shit about what people think of you. You are losing weight, and looking handsome/ beautiful for yourself. Stop wearing things to hide your body, embrace your body. Make people see the real you. Once you don’t let these fat jokes about you get to you, you will start to live a happier life. I used to be very fat in the past, now I lost so much weight, due to the fact that I didn’t care what people thought of me and started to look good for myself. When you lose weight, your doing this for yourself to be able to wear nice clothes, run more, walk longer, do more sports, look good. These are all things that we want, but some of us can’t get. Step by step you can do this! You are not different don’t feel weird around others there are millions of fat people around the world you’re not the only one. Don’t think that that girl won’t like you cause your fat, you’re amazing just the way you are. Do not ever, NEVER, change yourself for others. Don’t change the way you look, or the color of you hair, or the shape of your body for someone. Do this for yourself, and be original. Be yourself, no matter what other people think. God made you the way you are for a reason. Besides, an original is always worth more than a copy. Lastly, imagine the weight you are losing is going to the person you hate. Thank you, and god bless you!

By: Youssef Tawfik

Hello Guys! I am here today to tell you something. Do not expect anything from anyone. If you ever expect anything from anyone then good luck. You’ll get sad, mad and disappointed when what you expected did not happen.

People are selfish, everyone is. Even if anyone tells you “No, no I’m not selfish” they are lying. Everyone only thinks of themselves, and what will benefit them. When someone you didn’t expect anything from does something good towards you. They are doing so to benefit themselves.

So, the bottom line is DO NOT expect anything from anyone. If you really want something then go do it. Don’t wait for people to do anything for you or with you. Find happiness in doing things without expecting anything from anyone. Because when you do, and reach a state where you expect nothing from no one. You will reach full happiness.

You know that feeling you felt when you expected a birthday wish from someone and you didn’t get it. Also, that feeling you felt when you expected a gift from someone, or comment from someone, or anything from someone and it didn’t happen.

Well… now you believe me. That you shouldn’t expect anything from anyone. Start loving yourself, and doing everything for yourself. Do what makes you happy, even if everyone doesn’t like it. Because everyone is selfish. Yes some people might give and be very generous and kind. But they also have some selfishness in some aspects in life.

Rejection… OH GOD! Everyone hates it. It does suck, doesn’t it?! You should learn to accept rejection. Get used to it. Don’t let it bring you down every time. When anyone rejects you, not just a girl or guy you like. But when you go to an audition for a movie/show and they reject you, or when a university rejects you to join them. Start getting used to it, and start believing that that’s what’s best for you. God knows what’s best for you. So, when something you really wanted to happen did not happen, and then you get rejected from it. Then be happy, because it wasn’t going to be good for you in the first place. Always believe there is better, and a good reason to why you got rejected.

Maybe that girl/guy is toxic or won’t be good for you. Maybe that movie you were going to enter was going to challenge your ethical standards. Maybe that university you were going to enter was too far, and would create problems for you. So, just think of the positive always. When you do you will be HAPPY!

I hope you do listen to what I said, and start implementing it. Because in the end it’s for your own good. CIAO NOW!

 By: Jumana Nounou

ده جيل مش متربي” “هو ده الجيل ال هيحرر القدس؟” “جيل بايظ و قليل الادب”

I think we all once heard those words. All we get is judgements about what we do and what we don’t. If you’re going to judge, the least thing to do is to take a look at what we’re facing everyday. Our time is NOT like yours. Our generation, specially in Egypt faces many struggles and different types of pressures and none of the elders take these things into consideration. And I want us to acknowledge the things that we are facing in order to figure something out that could civilize between the generations.

Firstly, in order to understand what we are going through, we have to point out the differences that we face everyday; the ones that elders might not get.

For example, technology. In the past few decades, there has been a huge technological development. Everyday there’s a brand new device (phones, laptops, video games, etc…) that has the ability to do something the previous generation never dreamt of. These devices have opened many doors to the house of social pressures. Technically speaking, we waste most of our time checking out the latest trends, gossip and fashion so that we can keep up with everyone and everything. In the past, you took pictures only to keep memories. Things are different now. Now, we take pictures to pose and model. Full makeup and designer clothes. When you are 13 and this girl in your group wears makeup, she is the coolest one. When you’re 14 and this boy starts smoking, he is the coolest guy. We don’t have time to have fun. We compete. We compete on everything . Who gets more likes. Who has more followers. Who is the most popular person. Who is the girl that every girl wants to be and every boy wants to be with. Who is in a relationship. Who is not? Who smoked weed first? Who seems happier? Yes, we compete in… in the appearances of happiness when most of us are unhappy. We are controlled by social appearances.

Consequently, 13 year old minds now are way different than 13 year olds 30 years ago. The internet has exposed almost everything for us. We can now know anything without making any effort. We see different people and ideas from all over the world. We are exposed to different cultures, religions and unpopular opinions. It’s hard to convince us with anything because we don’t just see what you see. We see everything.

In the past, it took you a great effort, and a lot of time and money to explore different cultures. Because in order for you to do that you had to actually travel to this country physically and spend time with its people. Right now, your mind could be in Korea with BTS while your body is in Egypt.

Furthermore, you, older generations, have to take this into your consideration because you could be talking to a 12 year old expecting him to behave like a 12 year old when he is actually behaving like a 15 year old. And yes it really matters.

Do you know why this happens?

In my opinion, it’s because technology makes everything pass so fast. Ever since technology existed, things have been running way too fast for us to catch up. Time passes so fast that we don’t have enough time to have any fun. And the only time we have, we spend it on taking pictures to compete with others.

In this past decade, Egypt has suffered unstable political and economical circumstances. We have all witnessed very hard conditions. We always feel unsafe. We see our parents, cutting off relations with their close friends due to different points of view and different priorities . We see parents getting divorced due to these differences. We see people getting killed and imprisoned because they want to express themselves freely. These past few years, we have seen the worst come out of people when they legalize the crimes against the ones who are different than them. We see people backstabbing their relatives for money. We see death. We see hunger. We see outrage. We see corruption. We see inequality. We see terror. We are terrorized by everything and anything. We are always doubting everything and everyone around us. We are scared to express our opinions due to this corrupted place we call Motherland. We see our governments steal. We see enforced disappearances. We see void provisions. We are segregated. We see despotism. We see oppression. And we are expected to solve all these problems. We are burdened with the elder’s mistakes.

” هو ده الجيل ال هيحرر القدس”

I’m sorry but which generation lost Jerusalem? Who couldn’t defend it? You ruined everything and you expect us to just solve it all with smiles on our faces? Does that even make any sense?

And the problem is that we don’t know which side we take. We see everything yet we are confused.

Of course, due to these hard political conditions. Egypt has suffered more more difficult economical conditions. Maybe some of us don’t really care about politics nor freedom. But all of us care about food. We want to eat. I’m not talking about the extravagant life. I’m talking about the essentials. We need to be provided with enough food, drink, clothing and education. That is the least thing that we could ask for. But this too some might have the shortage of. Everything is so expensive and overpriced. And due to the technological developments. We have to keep up with these things when a lot of people have shortages of food. And we have to keep up with the fast fashion. And we have to go out a lot and travel to keep up the social image. If we don’t keep up this social image. Then we will not be appealing for everyone else to be befriended.

Right now, you need to realize those differences and acknowledge them. You have to understand that we are not like you and we can’t be.

” لا تؤدبوا أولادكم بأخلاقكم ، لأنهم خلقوا لزمان غير زمانكم ”

Al imam Ali, prophet muhammad’s cousin said these words. It’s really important to use them in our daily lives. Everything I pointed out in this article is because we have to figure something out. I’m not saying that you (elders) have to change all your ways towards us. And I’m not saying that we have to change all our behaviors towards you. But we can learn to be civil. And for all the burdens that we are bearer with. We don’t really have much choice. We have to keep moving forward. It’s our reality now: whether it’s political, social or economical. Unfortunately it’s now our burden too and we can’t just sit around and do the same mistakes the previous generations have been doing and let the next generation inherit all these dilemmas. We will not be able to solve them all. But the least thing to do is try. There is no doubt that we are flawed. And of course we are different. But that’s the point. Our flaws and differences differ us from others. That is where beauty lies.

By: Omar Sayed

You may ask yourself “why am I so alone and unloved ”. But unfortunately you never get persuasive answers to your question so you start looking for solutions like imitating your popular friends and colleagues in everything, seeking popularity and affection in your school, work, club or whatever the place you go to on a regular basis is.

You really want to have the feeling that you made new friends that care about you aren’t you? Hang out with them, take pictures and upload them on Instagram. Of course it’s important, but when you make these so trivial things your only aim in life, guess what? You will fail in everything.

Some individuals try to change themselves completely, their outlook on life, their way of dealing with people, but only to impress others and gain their satisfaction. So they can gain attention from other people by calling and hanging out with them day-to-day, being tagged in memes (like come on, who in the world does not get so excited when tagged in a meme?) and mentioned in comments on Facebook and social media.

They may try to change their shape, gain weight or lose weight, go to a gym or whatever; not caring for their health but caring about people’s impression upon them, they may change their body language, way of talking, their voice tones and many of their principles. And for what’s sake? ONLY seeking people’s satisfaction.

Maybe their lives would change in a better way and become more interesting, but the unfortunate fact is they will (sooner or later) feel miserable when they realize that people around them weren’t worth enough for these changes and that they never appreciated their sacrifices!

People around us aren’t villains and aren’t aiming on hurting us intentionally but maybe they won’t realize our achievements, sacrifices, or the complete variation we undergo to dazzle them. Even if our lives turned up to be better, we’ll still feel alone, you wanna know why? Simply because we did much effort without even being recognized by people we have strong affection for.

To be fortunate enough to have success in your life and feel appreciated for others, you must change for your OWN sake not for others, realize your flaws, change them for your own benefits not to impress others. Nothing on earth will impress them and if there is, it’s definitely temporary.

Love yourself as you are, neither take positivity from others nor absorb self confidence from them, have your own confidence, wear what you desire, dance, go out, sing, travel without thinking about the society’s judgements, cause society would never stop judging others, and when you radiate confidence, people will never realize your flaws and will appreciate you for being YOU not for trying to impress them.

Set new aims and goals for yourself, work hard, search for new interests, hobbies, develop them, discover yourself and exploit your leisure time. This will prevent you from any negative thoughts and who knows? Maybe you’ll find friends, colleagues and soulmates without exerting much worthless effort, getting through toxic relationships, or stressing yourself. Trust me, you will find it without all of this, maybe unintentionally.