She disguised herself as a man for four years, took up male-dominated hard labor jobs and sold her kidney ... All to single-handedly provide for her impoverished and debt-ridden family.
When it comes to Baheya Ali Suleiman, "Mother of the Year" is a gross understatement.
Suleiman has taken the Egyptian community by storm since she appeared on Egyptian host Moataz El-Demerdash's talk show, 90 Minutes, earlier this week.
Speaking to El-Demerdash, Suleiman explained how she took "motherly sacrifice" to a whole new heartbreaking level, shedding light on the unimaginable measures people resort to just to make ends meet amid life-threatening poverty.
Filling in for her unemployed husband who suffers from a disability, the 32-year-old mother of three cut her hair, put on masculine attire and took on typically male-dominated jobs.
She has been living as Bakkar, her male persona, for the past four years.
"I first began working in construction wearing an abaya and a veil, and people did not cut me any slack," she explained.
Disguised as a man, Suleiman has been working on a construction site in the city of Beni Suef. She also used to drive a toktok after her shift to earn some extra pounds, before the vehicle - a crucial source of income - was confiscated by the police last May for the lack of a valid license.
Suleiman has been unable to secure the EGP 3,000 ($168) she has to pay in fines to retrieve her vehicle.
"When I see women dressed up [in feminine attire], it hurts," she replied when the host asked her whether she misses living as a woman.
But that is not all there was to the sacrifice.
When debt began accumulating on the family, Suleiman decided to sell one of her kidneys for EGP 25,000 ($1,401) to avoid imprisonment. "Ever since I sold my kidney, I have been very tired and barely capable of standing on my feet," she said.
People are calling her the real Wonder Woman
Life in a man's world
A story of "motherhood, feminism and misery"
Authorities pledge support
As Suleiman's family continues to drown in debt and struggle to provide means of survival, authorities have decided to step in.
The Beni Suef Governorate announced that it will provide "all means for a decent living" for Suleiman, promising that officials would visit the family and take note of their difficult circumstances.
Not the first Egyptian woman forced to conquer the male world
In 2015, news broke that Sisa Abu Daooh, who was 65 years old at the time, had taken on a male identity for over forty years to support her family.
Abu Daooh shaved her head, wore loose-fitting male robes and took on jobs such as brick-making, wheat-harvesting, and shoe-shining.
“When a woman lets go of her femininity, it’s hard,” she said, according to The Guardian. “But I would do anything for my daughter. It was the only way to make money. What else could I do? I can’t read or write, my family didn’t send me to school, so this was the only way.”
She explained that adopting a male identity allowed her to perform roles that are considered off limits for women and avoid the threat of rampant sexual harassment.