She was in Giza square, looking for a gardening store to buy some plants. She wanted some basil, mint and lavender to put on balcony. She read that lavender reduce stress and anxiety, and she was in need of that. After touring the area, she didn’t find any, especially since she’s not a resident of that area.
Giza is as big and crowded as Cairo. You can find anything you need there, only if you know where to look for it. Only supermarkets and clothes shops are everywhere. As for local grocery markets, they are usually hidden somewhere in locales.
One day, she needed to buy batteries for her hearing aids. She had to walk 44 minutes to find a medical supplies store. Uber and whatnot are not an economic option to her. To use public transportation, it needs good navigation skills which she wasn’t certain she obtained. She didn’t want to end up in another city. Walking with the assistance of Google Maps is the safest option for her. At least, if she walks onto wrong path, she can turn back to take the correct direction without hurry.
While walking around, she found a man who was selling some second-hand shoes and watches on the pavement. As well as that, he was fixing a shoe. She stopped by him to have the holes in her shoes fixed.
The man started breaking the ice, asking her where she was from, her job, etc. He flattered her for her beauty. He asked whether she was married. She answered: No. With his eyebrows raised, he wondered; "Are you still bent benout?"
She froze for a moment. Bent benout means an unmarried woman, but at the same time, it implies virginity. In a conservative community like hers, virginity represents purity and humility. If a woman is not married, and hasn't been before, she’s expected to be a virgin.
She’s not married but shes’s not bent benout either. That was why she froze. She had to swallow her shock and fear. She only said: “I’m a Miss”.
She lost her virginity in a relationship with a man a few years ago: a man who didn’t think twice before approaching her. He didn’t think about what she would do if that relationship didn’t work out.
But she’s the one who deserves the lion’s share of fingers pointed at her. She didn’t question herself before going all the way. She deluded herself that she had found the right man. She rushed without absorbing the new experience slowly, at her own pace. And when she did it, she felt ashamed as if she was stained forever.
Now on, she has to keep a low profile. She can’t take in a demonstration supporting one of her causes. She can’t dare to publicly disagree or speak up against anything. She has to pay the price for her impulsiveness. She has to live in fear, scared to death that her secret might be revealed unwillingly. If, God forbid, this happens, it will be a scandal not only for her reputation but for all her family. And probably, she will be forever alone since no man will marry her unless he doesn’t care about traditions and culture.
Based on a True Story
Good morning. When I get home, I'll read your post and comment on it! Chat soon!!
Interesting. The culture in Japan is very different.
@yumiyumayume, thanks for liking my post before even reading it! You don't need to, you can click like only on what you really like! :))
@T-Newfields, Thanks for the corrections! Our oriental culture, indeed, is different from the one in Japan or of Western countries!
Hi, ZZ. We used to have such manly society like you do, but we don't have it anymore. I think it's super unfair for women and if women would be blamed, men should be too because women can't loose their virginity alone. We should be equal.
Thanks for your supportive comment, @yumiyumayume!
Double-Zee, when you talk about gender equality in the West, don't include Italy. We're still a patriarchal society. As a man, it pains me to tell you that there's a massive feminicide crisis that has been going on for at least a decade. The law is a fucking joke. There's a feminicide every day. So please don't put Italy on the same level as the rest of the western world.
Do you have a lot of feminicides, if any, in your countries? @Double-Zee @yumiyumayume
I didn't include the West! I know, however, that the West is not a paradise on earth for women. Unfortunately, we have feminicides in Egypt. There are honour crimes as well. For instance, if the heroine's secret in my post is revealed, she might be murdered by a member of her family. It would be called then, "an honour crime".
I wrote that post a few weeks, you might be interested in reading it. https://journaly.com/post/45939
Off topic, at some point, I thought you were a woman. I know that Simone and Andrea are feminine name in Spanish, but it seems it isn't the case in Italian. :) Now, I understand why you said you were lazy to try new recipes! :DD
@Simone- I didn't know that Italy has still patriarchal society. We used to have it too, but young generations don't follow it, though.
In Japan, domestic violence and stalking are the two major issues, but the word, "feminicide" hasn't still been permeated yet.
@Double-Zee It's sickening to think that this poor woman—or indeed anyone—has to live in constant fear of being exposed. What if that man showed up one day and started blackmailing her? She'd be forced to do whatever he wanted. Here in Italy, there've been a few murder cases involving Pakistani families. One of these cases made headlines for months and prompted an international investigation as one of the perpetrators fled to Pakistan. It's things like this that fuel anti-Muslim sentiment across Europe. Nobody is asking Muslims in Europe to give up their religion, but at least they should have the decency to respect the values and laws of their host country. You can't keep behaving as if you were still in Pakistan! If you've moved to Italy, let your daughters be Italian instead of killing them!
@Double-Zee Yes, Simone is a female name all over world, not just in Spanish-speaking countries. In Italy, we use Simone for boys and Simona for girls. Instead, Andrea is both for boys and girls. Stupid Italian language! Did you know that Simon is actually a Jewish name (I'm not Jewish)? In fact, St Peter, the first Pope and disciple of Jesus Christ, was originally called Simon. However, Jesus renamed him Peter. If I meet Jesus after I die, the first thing I'll ask him is, "Hey, you there! What have you gotten against the name Simon?!" 🤣🤣🤣
This is something I'd like to learn more about: the difficulties that some Muslims have adapting to the western culture when they are somewhere in Europe!
Ah, I didn't know it was a Jewish name! Some Christian girls in Egypt are called Simon. Haha, indeed it's a nice name! :)