Ramadan is the holiest month of the year. One that is filled with a beautiful spirit and enhances the sense of charity and community, of love and giving.
But what lies beneath that? The quenching thirst and the absence of food along with the dependency of caffeine, nicotine and other substances can be dealt with. Yes, there is a noticeable increase in road rage, fights starting randomly on the streets and the dealing with scorching summer heat, but that's pretty much it.
For men at least.
But do you know what it's like for an Egyptian woman in Ramadan?
Like the men, we have jobs and work to tend to, schools and classes we can't miss and homes to take care of. We have houses full of fathers, mothers, children and siblings to cook for and dine with and loved family pets to walk and pay attention to. All of that is done happily, greatly and wholeheartedly.
But then we step outside.
Unfortunately, every Egyptian woman knows what it's like to be harassed or assaulted. Whether it be sexual, physical or verbal, it happens and there is no escaping it in this country.
What's truly horrible though, is that instead of stopping during Ramadan, that harassment, if anything, slightly increases.
Women are expected to remain indoors because men are fasting and apparently, don't have the ability to keep their hands, remarks, and looks to themselves. We're expected to be kept away from the public due to their perception of a woman's body.
One thing I truly don't understand is people's refusal to acknowledge or speak about a woman's menstrual cycle. Not all women are able to fast during the entire month of Ramadan because we do get a monthly visit from a friend. That being said, women, just like foreigners, Christians and non-believers, don't tend to eat or drink in front of those who are in fact fasting as a sign of respect and understanding.
However, God forbid they catch a girl taking a sip of water. The crude ridicule and looks of disgust pretty much lasts throughout the month and sometime after.
This, coming from a majority who don't apply the five Islamic pillars, is the definition of hypocrisy.
Also, the expectation that women must make some sort of feast or siesta every day for iftar is downright absurd.
Women are not baby-popping, master-chef cooking human beings with super powers. We really, truly don't have to do anything we don't want to do. When we do, it doesn't, and shouldn't, mean that it's our only purpose in life.
You have eyes, hands, the ability to read and an Internet connection. Get up and make your own food.