Raised for the Collective: Arab Girls Between Self and Household

On TikTok, a younger Egyptian girl, Hend Sayshi, spoke about residing between two variations of herself, the one formed by household expectations and the one she found via independence. She defined that whereas she usually defaults to the model molded by household dynamics and collective priorities, residing and touring alone allowed her to satisfy one other aspect of herself, one outlined by selection fairly than obligation.  Her reflection resonated with a whole lot of Arab girls who shared comparable experiences, revealing a broader actuality in Arab societies, the place individuality is usually intertwined with the expectations of household and group. Students have lengthy pointed to this divide between collectivist and individualist cultures. A 2003 research within the journal Intercultural Schooling discovered that Egypt scored considerably increased on collectivism in comparison with Germany, the place self-expression and independence are extra central to the tradition.  In collectivist contexts, individuals are inspired to see themselves as a part of a gaggle, and creating a way of identification usually means balancing private want with household obligation and social expectations. This pressure between self and society has lengthy been mirrored in Egyptian literature. In her 1977 e book The Hidden Face of Eve,…