“Where are the women?” This is the exact same question that Christina Enlope proposed in 1989 while she was thinking about women entering politics in her book. However, the triggering question has become a driving force against great man terminology–who intentionally or unintentionally tended to dominate most of the past and history.
What can women do besides working as a housewife? And where will the world be when surrounded by the grace of their intelligence? History was confused with consciousness, and the time is about to witness some amazing shifts that only women can convey.
Although the strong presence and domination of many great historical figures were engraved in golden times, the most generic and fascinating example of great power still falls under the veil of the wisdom of a lady. We can look at Cleopatra, for example,” the magnificent Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, who ruled over the great empire for almost 21 years, making it to fame of strongest woman ever existed.
Marwa Elselehdar is also not far behind in emerging as a successful lady in a male-dominated society in the modern world. She is the first ever Egyptian female ship captain to date. Despite the academy only accepting men at the time, she applied anyway and was granted permission to join after a legal review by Egypt’s then-president Hosni Mubarak. However, her career was struck by lightning when the huge ship caused panic in the Suez Canal. She was intentionally falsely blamed for the incident; her picture and a screenshot were shared by an Arab news agency, claiming her to be the woman behind docking the ship in Suez Canal. She further expressed her concern over the same in an interview, documenting her frustration and elegance:
“People in our society still don’t accept the idea of girls working in the sea away from their families for a long time,” she adds. “But when you do what you love, it is not necessary for you to seek the approval of everyone.”
The Illustrated Boatman’s Daughter shed light on the exact women’s regime when Egypt was in drool. It is the time when Suez Canal is under construction. But how “Salima,” the brave and spirited daughter of a boatman, fights all corruption to help build the Suez Canal is a story to embellish change. The historical fiction novel truly illustrates the strong, bold essence of a woman and conjures up within the chronological realm to bring a true fearless face of elegance to this world. It helps anyone to rediscover and learn what a woman can do despite facing all the odds and difficulties.
Where the world is shifting towards a more positive change, many backward countries still perceive the word “women” as housewives only–a lady who is ideal for catering the house and doing chores–which is somehow okay. However, we as a society need to understand and evolve our moderate thinking. We must accept that women are not far behind in anything. Whether it is the inspiring story of “Salima” from The Illustrated Boatman’s Daughter or the fierce and brave Cleopatra, we still need to learn and enhance our thought on what is a “woman.”
