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Who Advocates for Egypt? Women Lawyers in Egyptian Film on the Eve of Independence
Author(s) -
Mahmoud Rania
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
gender and history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.153
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1468-0424
pISSN - 0953-5233
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0424.12501
Subject(s) - modernity , ambivalence , independence (probability theory) , ideal (ethics) , gender studies , sociology , political science , aesthetics , law , art , psychology , social psychology , statistics , mathematics
This article examines two Egyptian films, Al Avocato Madiha ( Advocate Madiha ) (1950) and Al Ustadha Fatima ( Professor Fatima ) (1952), as covertly supportive of women's professionalisation. Appearing at a turning point in Egyptian history, they anticipate post‐1952 Revolution debates on how best to integrate women in public life. Their ambivalence is reflected in their fluctuation between upholding a patriarchal modernity, with its vision of male and female professions, and constructing an egalitarian modernity where women's contribution to nation‐building is not limited to maternal roles. These films strive to decentre the modern family ideal as the primary paradigm of a healthy nation.