We all know Mourad Makram as the aspiring actor and TV presenter of a digital food blog, aka “El Akeel!” But for some reason, a certain post of his circulated our timelines and here’s why we decided NOT to root for it!
In his post, Mourad starts by calling out parents who fail to raise their children the right way – yes he literally used the term “fail” and other offensive terms in the harshest and most judgmental manner ever.
But that’s not even it, what we feel is more problematic is the part where Mourad continues to say that parents should FORBID their girls to have sleepovers, stay out late and argue for their rights or whatnot.
We understand where his words (rough, entitled and too on the nose as they are) are coming from. He’s referring to the rape and harassment cases against women that are surfacing right now.
HOWEVER, Dear Mourad, your topic may be profound, but your argument is just wrong!
Firstly, locking “our girls” up and forbidding them from living their lives the way they please (under parental supervision of course) is not the answer. How about preaching people about CONSENT, instead?
If we teach BOTH OUR GIRLS AND BOYS about the concept of consent from early on, we wouldn’t have to worry about girls staying out late, sleeping over at friends or even travelling alone. Our community would be a lot safer.
And, did the fact that girls are being harassed by family members, doctors and teachers ever cross Mr. Makram’s mind? Should parents (according to his rationale) forbid them from seeing a doctor or attending classes, too?
We can’t control an entire community, but we sure as hell can control our own households, raise our kids according to the values we see fit, warn them about predators out there and wish for the best!
Because at a certain age your kids will be out there all on their own, as they should, and they will have to deal with society the way they were raised and there’s nothing else you as a parent can control.
We are definitely not advocates of spoiling kids or any sort of negligent parenthood, for that matter. We’re simply strong believers that our parenting methods must be updated according to the times we live in. And we’re in no time of female infanticide for sure.
