By: Aya Mahmoud
Our Egyptian traditions can sometimes take their toll on women who suffer from the lack of freedom and feel obligated to do many things just to avoid criticism. These so-called norms stipulated by our society make many girls can’t help but wonder how and why it all started in the first place? Is it because people are becoming more and more judgemental and less tolerant of others?

As many taboos have fallen one after the other lately in Egypt starting with atheism and ending with homosexuality, people have come up with lots of perspectives regarding those controversial topics. As we hear our grandmothers tell us about how they used to wear short skirts on public transportation and on the streets without worrying about getting harassed, the shift that took place in the past few years has become all too evident.

When girls are about to get married, sometimes they have “Katb El-Ketab” before the wedding. This step declares their official marriage. If they had a sexual relationship with their grooms-to-be before their wedding night and some argument came up and led to their breakup, her parents consider it as a sin and blame her for disrespecting herself and her family.

Many weddings include a belly dancing act as part of the entertainment program; the guests and families of the bride and groom always enjoy the show and cheer the belly dancer on. What if a girl from the same family decides to become a professional belly dancer? Standards shift right away and the type of art that we seek in our celebrations automatically becomes unacceptable.

Girls usually don’t have the guts to publicly express their opinions about controversial topics like hair removal, PMS and romantic relationships. We’re usually too concerned about what people will think and how they will react. Even if they show their support, deep down they’re probably labeling girls who dare to speak up.

A man wants to marry an independent, sophisticated and responsible woman who’s capable of defending herself, but has no opinion on anything and supports him in whatever he says because he definitely knows better. She also needs to listen to whatever he asks her without discussion. She needs to be cheerful and skillful at relationships, but he still has to be the first man in her life. Talk about double standards.

Girls try to be the prettiest they can be all the time by keeping up with the trendiest styles, either on TV or social media. But has any girl tried sporting these looks on public transportation? Has she counted the number of times she was subjected to either verbal or physical harassment? So is it okay for men to admire beautiful celebrities but when we try to look like them, they think we’re flirting material?

Moving out of your parents’ house can be a good step for girls too. We need to go through this independent phase and learn how to deal with life on our own. It isn’t an unethical step; it doesn’t mean we’re seeking a chance to just break the rules. We want to be able to live our lives without having to wait for Prince Charming. Allow your girls to move out just like you allow your boys to.

Double standards place way too much pressure on girls in our society. They either end up giving up on their dreams or keep trying to pursue them and get judged for it.