Attendees of a "She Travels" lecture about couch surfing and traveling in Morocco held in Alexandria, Egypt. Posted Feb. 12, 2016. (photo byFacebook/travel with shee)

Author:Ayah Aman Posted March 10, 2017

CAIRO In an attempt to break social and psychological barriers that preventyoung Egyptian women from traveling the world by themselves, Shaima Ali, an employee of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, launched the initiative She Travels inAugust 2015. Theplatform encourageswomen of all social classes and ages to inspire other women by sharingtheir travel stories of trips on their ownor with their families.

TranslatorJoelle El-Khoury

Ali has been holding monthly workshops in Cairo andAlexandria, attended generally by 30-40 women at a time, where female travelerstalk about theirexperiences visiting foreign places. The talks donot addresstourist attractions or local lifestyles, but rather focus on personal experiences and the way the community has dealt with the women upon their return to Egypt.

The majority of Egyptian women whotravel alone often face social orreligious rejection, under the pretext that itmay not be safe, they may be scared abroad and fail to act or protect themselves in a community they are not familiar with, or that Islam requires womento beaccompanied by a male guardian while traveling.

In February, Al-Monitor attended the workshop in Cairo and spoke to Ali and other members of theinitiative.

Ali told Al-Monitor, It was unacceptable, even for my ownfamily, that girls traveleven within Egypt. It was a far-fetched dream for me to travel by myself, but I decided to make my dream come true.

She said, Julia Roberts 'Eat Pray Love'was an incentive as she chose to travel to face her psychological problems and engage in new experiences. My first experience was a 16-daytrip to Europe, where I explored a new world thatallowed me to return to Egypt a new person.

Commenting on her first experience, Ali said, When I saw theworld outside the Egyptian border, I came to realize that I was trapped in a box. The experience was worth the risk and challenges.

Once back, Ali decided that she didnot want her experience to remain a mere personal story that ended with her returnto Cairo airport. This ishow the idea ofShe Travels came about,to encourage other girls to travel and shareexperiences in the workshops.

"The girls who share their experiences in the workshops shed light on their own social circumstances, so that other girls become aware that traveling is not justfor more emancipated or higher social classes, Ali said.

She added, The workshop is designed to break social and psychological barriers. Most of the questions asked by womenwho have never been outside Egypt focus on how to face the parents negative attitude, deal with Western societiesor handle the high cost of travel.

She stressed, After hearing stories of other womenwithsimilar social and financial backgrounds, they learn about the options that may make it easier for them to decide to travel.

Ali focuses in the workshops on encouraging the womento travel as a way to fulfill and free themselves in Egyptian society.

She said, Our daily life is full of people who dictate what we do, by advising or coercing us. This often causes womento lose the ability to make key life decisions. Once they break this tradition and start making their own decisionseven trivial onessuch as choosing what meal to havetheir self-confidence will be boosted. This will not happen if they remain trapped in their small circle.

Women who manage to break social barriers often face abacklash that points to religion. In December 2012, Dar al-Ifta,Egypt'sofficial religious institution tasked with drafting edicts, had settled the debate on women traveling without a male guardian or a male relative, and authorized women to travel with other women. The rulingfocusedon women'spersonal safety, which is the key factor that religiousscholars took into consideration when discussing whether or not women should be allowed totravelalone.

Ali said, Toensure safe companionship, 20,000 girls became a member of the 'She Travels'Facebook page,which has become a platform that brings together girls who sharethe same desire totravel and beencouraged [to do so]. [We] do not organize trips for female travelers, but we openchannels of communication for womenlooking for achance to travel.

Amani Hussein, 28, hails from a middle-class family in Upper Egypt. She pursued a masters degree in Germany. Husseintold Al-Monitor, Traveling has helped me achieve my goals. My decision to pursue my university studies in Cairo was the first step in confronting my parents. They felt that I was derailing from the family tradition requiring that girls get married and have their own family right after finishing school.

She continued, The dispute with the family mostly ends with the parents seeing that their daughters life has changed. Parents are more likely to accept the idea of their daughter traveling for their studies,rather than traveling to discover the world or to be free.

Speaking to Al-Monitor abouther travel experiences to seven countries by herself, Hind Saeid, 32, said, Girls may benefit from the small margin of freedom given by their parents to obtain full freedom.My work in the public domain gave me more freedom away from my family. Most girls aspire to live new experiences where they discover themselves away from their family.

Saeid added, I experiencetough situations every time I travel, but being responsible was the first step in becoming independent and responsible formy owndecisions.

Indeed, there are many examples of Egyptian girlswho manageto overcomesocial and religious obstacles and embarkon journeys outsideEgypt'sborders.For many girls in Egypt, traveling does not seem a time to just relax, but more so an opportunityto discover their true capacities and personalities.

Read More: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/03/campaign-to-encourage-young-ladies-to-travel-alone-continues.html

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Egyptian initiative encourages young women to travel the world alone - Al-Monitor