AND SHREWD AND FROWARD, SO BEYOND ALL MEASURE.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S THE TAMMING OF THE SHREW, 1593
[ live ] Welcome, welcome, welcome to Egypt!
[ live ] Scarf! Five pounds!
[ live ] Among the mothers awarded a medal, Sisa Hasamin was one who stood out.
[ live ] Her living conditions made her pretend she was a man for 40 years,
to be able to provide for her family.
[ Sisa ] My husband died 43 years ago. I was left pregnant with no source of income.
[ Sisa ] I needed men's clothes to find a job and survive.
[ Sisa’s brother ] This is what they do for their children and we, as a society, are responsible for our people.
[ Sisa’s btother ] Look around!
[ Sisa’s brother ] The state says it will stay vigilant and help my dear sister Sisa,
and Egyptian women like her.
[ Sisa’s brother ] We must act so no one ends up in such situations.
[ Sisa’s brother ] By her example,
she honours both men and women.
[ title ] THE UNTAMED SHREW
MOHAMED LOTFY, TAXI DRIVER
[ boy ] - You need Sisa? [ Mohamed ] - Yes
[ Mohamed ] This woman, you see?
[ Mohamed ] This lady, speaking a phone. No, no!
[ Mohamed ] That one – there, with the phone!
[ Mohamed ] Yes, her!
[ Mohamed ] This woman – she look more like a man.
[ man ] - Hello! [ Sisa ] - Hi!
[ Sisa ] What do you think about Hada's mother?
[ man ] She's great! 100 percent!
[ Sisa ] - Hasn't she worked enough in her life? [ man ] - Honestly, she worked like a horse!
[ Sisa ] So, old man, what do you think about me?
[ man2 ] She's worth a dozen men.
[ Sisa ] Can anyone say anything bad about me?
[ man2 ] Only good! You're a sheikha of the Arabs.
[ Sisa ] Pardon us, we're common people and live in a modest home.
[ Sisa ] Hey, Ramadan!
[ Sisa ] Don't call the kids or they'll start shouting around the house.
[ Sisa ] We don't want trouble.
[ Sisa ] Sisa Abu Du Hannemr.
[ Sisa ] I put on a jellabiya.
[ Sisa ] My story starts with one, I put it on and began to work with men.
[ interviewer ] How old were you when you got married?
[ Sisa ] I was 16.
[ Sisa ] My husband passed away when I was 6 months pregnant.
[ interviewer ] You started working after that?
[ Sisa ] Yes, who'd provide for me?
[ Sisa ] After giving birth, I stayed with my mother-in-law for 40 days,
and then I was told to remarry!
[ Sisa ] Remarry?
[ Sisa ] And who's going to take care of my daughter?
[ Sisa ] It'll be me protecting her.
[ Sisa ] And I started working,
carrying bricks up and down,
up and down, for a quarter of a pound a day.
[ Sisa ] I'd given birth by then,
but it was still hard for me.
[ Sisa ] Ever since my husband's death when I was pregnant,
[ Sisa ] I've never taken anything from anyone.
[ Sisa ] I was left alone against the world.
[ Sisa ] I worked, I made bricks, then I harvested crops.
[ Sisa ] I've had many jobs.
[ Sisa ] If my daughter hadn't been a baby,
[ Sisa ] I would have accepted the offer of marriage a second time.
[ Sisa ] Thank God, I started work shining shoes on Mahatta street.
[ Sisa ] I've worked like this since 1981 up to now.
[ interviewer ] - Do you suffer without a husband? [ Sisa ] - Not really.
[ Sisa ] May he rest in peace.
[ Sisa ] I mean, our daughter is already 43 years old now.
[ Sisa ] She's become old by now,
[ Sisa ] I've aged better than her!
[ Sisa ] I look more solid and better overall!
[ interviewer ] Did you love anyone after your husband's death?
[ Sisa ] I only love my daughter and the prophet.
[ Sisa ] I've done a pilgrimage to Mecca twice.
[ Mohamed ] I said to people in the village:
[ Mohamed ] Do you remember this man with kids, who shines shoes behind the temple.
[ Mohamed ] So, it is a woman, it's not a man. 'Really, a woman?'
[ Mohamed ] Some people don't believe me, because she looks like a man. Even the voice she speaks.
[ Sisa ] My life in Luxor became dangerous, I was getting threats.
[ Sisa ] Thanks to the honourable Ali, he's a journalist,
they sent me plane tickets.
[ Sisa ] I went to Cairo to the department of radio and TV, they asked me if I had any wishes,
and I said I wanted a kiosk in Luxor, so they gave me a licence!
[ Sisa ] Hey, take one!
[ voice ] Are you treating her like a man or a woman?
[ voice2 ] This man says he treats her like a man.
[ Sisa ] Call that fatso over to have his shoes shined.
[ Mohamed ] For shoe shining,
she earns 10 pounds here, 10 pounds there.
[ woman ] A day or for each pair?
[ Sisa ] А day!
[ Mohamed ] If we have tourists, they can give it, but not now.
[ Mohamed ] She says if she earned that much, she'd rent an apartment here or even buy one.
[ Mohamed ] As it is, her daughter rents a small house on the other side of the Nile.
[ Sisa ] I used to leave my daughter with my mother.
[ Sisa ] Who would take care of her?
[ Sisa ] I was coming back from work,
and she was coming back from school.
[ Sisa ] Eventually, she had to quit school.
[ Sisa ] She'd wash my and grandma's clothes.
[ Sisa ] She cooked and baked bread in the oven.
[ Sisa ] Her grandmother taught her to do that.
[ Sisa ] I married her off, thank God.
[ Sisa ] And I'm still the same.
[ Sisa ] I don't want money.
[ Sisa ] I only want to provide for my family and to buy them a good house.
[ Sisa ] I'll give them everything I earn.
[ Sisa ] They'll have to pay a high bride price for me.
[ Sisa ] I've got many expenses to cover.
[ Sisa ] I once had a huge debt and people were willing to wait.
[ Sisa ] Where do I get the money to pay for my household expenses, for electricity?
[ Sisa ] Go to your grandmother.
[ Sisa ] Why don't you put some other clothes on her?
[ Sisa’s daughter ] She's afraid of you.
[ Sisa ] I used to hold you like this when you were little.
[ Sisa ] I'd come home when my daughter was already asleep.
[ Sisa ] If I'd given birth to a boy,
[ Sisa ] I wouldn't have to carry this burden.
[ Sisa ] What do you think is the reason?
[ Sisa ] Because I was afraid that she'd take my marriage badly.
[ Sisa ] I didn't know what her life would be like.
[ Sisa ] I guess she'd feel abandoned,
and wander from one house to another.
[ Sisa ] When my daughter turned 16 years old,
[ Sisa ] I married her off to her cousin.
[ Sisa ] Then she was pregnant and gave birth to a son, Ahmad.
[ Sisa ] Then she had a second son, Muhammad,
then she had Abid, Saadi and Sara, five children all in all!
[ Sisa ] And I feed them all!
[ interviewer ] Why isn't your son-in-law working?
[ Sisa ] He is very ill.
[ Sisa ] Each injection costs 350 pounds.
[ interviewer ] - Do her children go to school? [ Sisa ] - None of them go.They already work.
[ Sisa’s daughter ] He said he'd give me a 1,000 pound discount.
[ Sisa ] Did he change his mind then?
[ Sisa’s daughter ] - He said that if… [ Sisa ] - So he changed his mind?
[ Sisa ] Very wrong of him.
[ Sisa’s daughter ] He said if I brought the money in time, I'd get a £1,000 discount.
[ Sisa ] How so? That's not how it started.
[ Sisa’s daughter ] But it's good, he's giving a discount.
[ Sisa ] Take it, I don't want any more.
[ Sisa ] We pray to Allah to make this land ours.
[ Sisa ] This lot's not big enough to build two rooms.
[ Sisa ] The land owner wants 30,000 pounds for it,
but where can I find so much?
[ Sisa ] I keep telling them, hold on, be strong.
[ Sisa ] That's why I need to work a lot.
[ Sisa ] I've never been to school or to a kuttab.
[ Sisa ] I was only taught how to cook and bake bread.
[ interviewer ] This temple of Hatshepsut is about 3.5 thousand years old.
[ Sisa ] And I'm only 65.
[ interviewer ] After her husband died,
Hatshepsut became a warden of his little son by the second wife.
[ interviewer ] She ruled while the son was growing up.
[ interviewer ] But then he grew up.
[ interviewer ] And she suddenly decided to seize power,
to become king, despite being a woman.
[ interviewer ] But she knew the people wouldn't accept that.
[ interviewer ] She made up a story that she was the daughter of the god Amon himself,
and ordered that the story be carved in stone on the walls of this temple.
[ Sisa ] And I'm the daughter of my father, may he rest in peace.
[ interviewer ] She wore pharonic vestments, glued on a beard.
[ Sisa ] And I pretend I'm shaving a beard!
[ interviewer ] And she continued to rule for 20 more years.
[ Sisa ] And I became a man who takes care of his daughter.
[ interviewer ] - You're better than hundreds of men! [ Sisa ] - Thank you!
[ interviewer ] During her reign Egypt lived in peace.
[ Sisa ] Really?
[ interviewer ] And trade with other countries flourished.
[ interviewer ] She sent caravans to Somali, to Africa, to bring back bakhoor wood,
and wood for shipbuilding.
[ interviewer ] This is what happened during her rule.
[ interviewer ] She was a woman but worth a 100 men!
[ Sisa ] I'm proud of Hatshepsut.
[ Sisa ] God rested her soul after death...
and so he will rest mine.
[ Sisa ] I never saw her...
but I heard her story.
[ Amina ] Hello! Drive in!
[ Sisa ] - Right, this is Nusan ad-Dib. [ Amina ] - Yes, I'm Nusan ad-Dib.
[ Sisa ] After her husband fell ill, this woman took his place and learnt this trade.
[ Sisa ] He suffers from liver disease.
[ Sisa ] We pray for his speedy recovery.
[ Sisa ] They have two kids.
[ Sisa ] Her husband taught her to planish and paint vehicles.
[ Sisa ] He showed her how to.
[ Sisa ] She has to do it, because she has a loan for the land to pay.
[ Sisa ] But, God willing, we'll buy property, too.
[ Sisa ] You're doing fine!
[ Amina ] I'm the only woman working in this business in the province of Luxor, Qena and Aswan.
[ Sisa ] Same as your sister Sisa.
[ Amina ] Before I didn't see women doing men's jobs!
[ Amina ] But it was my husband's business.
[ Sisa ] - It means your husband… [ Amina ] - When he was doing it…
…he was the best of the best.
[ Sisa ] The best of the best?
[ Amina ] First rate!
[ Amina ] He was the first to start teaching it in Luxor, Qena and Aswan.
[ Sisa ] Thank God.
[ Amina ] When he became ill, I decided to continue this tough job.
[ Sisa ] God bless you and good health to him!
[ Amina ] Now, I must give it another pass with a spatula.
[ Sisa ] Praise the Lord!
[ Amina ] Praise the Lord!
[ Sisa ] So, how much do you earn doing all this?
[ Amina ] Well, each client pays his own price.
[ Amina ] Each gnat sucks as much as he can.
[ Amina ] There are poor clients and we support them and give them a cheaper price.
[ Sisa ] - So do I. [ Amina ] - And we have rich clients. That's how we live!
[ Sisa ] Praise the Lord!
[ Amina ] I know that my life is hard and no other woman would cope with it,
but it's my duty to my family.
[ Amina ] I must do the man's job.
[ Sisa ] - Teach your son, let him help you! [ Amina ] - No, he's busy studying.
[ Amina ] - Once he's done, God willing, he'll be helpful. [ Sisa ] - You're doing a great job.
[ Sisa ] Greetings!
[ Amina ] Give me a couple of days and I'll give it back looking like it just left the factory.
[ Amina ] Yes, I used a device to polish this spot.
[ Amina ] Now, I'll use water.
[ Amina ] Don't worry, it's my job.
[ Amina ] And I know how to do it!
[ Amina ] I have a daughter.
[ AMINA DJABER MUAVAD ] I want her to become a doctor.
[ Amina ] I don't want her to go through the same suffering I did.
[ Amina ] I want my children to live a more dignified life than me.
[ Amina ] May Lord give all of us,
clean water and sewerage!
[ Sisa ] Clean water and sewerage!
[ Amina ] We live a bitter sweet life every day.
[ Amina ] But time is passing by, thank God.
[ Sisa ] If I have no food to eat,
[ Sisa ] I drink tea, pray and go to bed.
[ Amina ] Praise God!
[ Amina ] We are simple people.
[ Amina ] Our everyday life is normal.
[ Sisa ] I don't know what to tell the butcher if I show up at his shop.
[ Sisa ] Because we have no money!
[ Sisa ] And if we ever visit him he raises the price to 100 pounds.
[ Sisa ] But where can we get so much money!
[ interviewer ] You want your daughter to be a doctor?
[ Amina ] Yes, and I want my son to be an engineer.
[ Amina ] I want our village to develop! I want an Egyptian or Arab investor,
to come and build a factory here,
and create jobs for our youth.
[ Amina ] Everybody feel sorry for our village.
[ Amina ] Young men gather on the bridge, they have no jobs.
[ Amina ] They work one day, get 40 pounds and sleep for the rest of the week.
[ Amina ] Unemployment in this region is just terrible.
[ Amina ] I mean, I'm in a better position.
[ Amina ] I can earn £50 here, £100 there and live a normal life.
[ Sisa ] - Terrible, terrible. [ Amina ] - Some people are much worse off.
[ Amina ] You're going to heaven,
because you raised a fatherless child.
[ Sisa ] Thank God!
[ Sisa ] That's the only thing that could make up...
for all the mistakes I made.
[ Amina ] I cry all the time.
[ Sisa ] Tears are a blessing.
[ Amina ] We're simple folk,
when we see injustice or repression we cry.
[ Amina ] This is who we are, we can't change.
[ Amina ] We cry to feel a little better.
[ Amina ] Praise the Lord.
[ Sisa ] I swear on these gifts the earth has given us, I never ever cry.
[ Sisa ] May I go blind if I'm lying.
[ Sisa ] I've worked hard,
SISA ABAU DAUH EL-NEMR
but it's better than having a second husband.
[ Sisa ] I'd rather eat dirt and feed stones to my daughter,
than find myself another husband.
[ Sisa ] I thank the good Lord,
for granting me health,
and a goal...
in life.
[ Sisa ] When I'm at home, I pray at home.
[ Sisa ] When I'm in my kiosk, I pray in my kiosk.
[ interviewer ] - Why don't you go to the mosque? [ Sisa ] - I don't go because I'm a woman.
[ Sisa ] I don't want to go to mosque myself.
[ Sisa ] Can't I talk to God when I'm at home?
[ Sisa ] Back in the times of the Prophet,
at the Kaaba,
both men and women would pray together.
[ interviewer ] You don't go to mosque, because you're embarrassed of other men?
[ Sisa ] There are some who behave badly,
but that doesn't bother me.
[ Sisa ] But I avoid going there and pray at home,
although there are many mosques around.
[ Sisa ] Get out of here, you dog!
[ Sisa ] There are strict rules in Saudi Arabia.
[ Sisa ] As for here… Women already wear pants.
[ Sisa ] Each country has its own customs and traditions.
[ Sisa ] Everyone has the right to wear what he wants.
[ Sisa ] No one has the right to impose anything.
[ Sisa ] Life is about freedom.
[ Sisa ] I don't want to speak ill of others.
[ Sisa ] I'm not an evil person.
[ Sisa ] I wouldn't speak ill of others,
not even if you paid me to.
Some people used to try to bully me.
SISA ABAU DAUH EL-NEMR
[ Sisa ] But when they learnt I'm capable of any job,
that I'm strong, they left me alone.
[ Sisa ] When they learnt more about my life,
about how I used to harvest crops for quarter of a pound a day...
about how I harvest an acre in 5 days
for 8 Egyptian pounds.
[ Sisa ] My life was hard and it still is.
[ Sisa ] I have two hands, two eyes and my health.
[ Sisa ] I can still work all this land.
[ Sisa ] At times, when I couldn't find work,
I'd get by with a cup of tea,
and a piece of salted bread.
[ Sisa ] It tasted like honey.
[ Mahmoud ] She was a woman,
MAHMOUD MOHAMED DIAB, FARMER
and people would try to drive her away. But she didn't give in.
[ Mahmoud ] She told everyone it earnt her a living.
[ Mahmoud ] Ok, daughter...
get down...
...before you fall!
[ Mahmoud ] Your uncle...
he went ploughing.
[ Mahmoud ] Our women cook and work about the house.
[ Mahmoud ] And we work in the fields.
[ Mahmoud ] Women's only duties are to cook and look after children.
[ Mahmoud ] We're the breadwinners.
[ Mahmoud ] I know that she's a woman,
but I treat her as a man, because she works like a man.
[ Mahmoud ] I treat her like a man.
MOHAMED LOTFY, TAXI DRIVER
[ Sisa ] I was walking along Al Badia Street one night,
when I saw them sitting there...
[ Sisa ] Devils...
evil spirits...
[ Sisa ] They were howling.
[ Sisa ] I didn't want to talk to them or pay them any attention,
to avoid being cursed.
[ Sisa ] I've got a strong heart, but I turned grey nevertheless.
[ Sisa ] What can I do for you?
[ Sisa ] How can I help you? I'm at your service.
[ Sisa ] I know people at the highest level.
[ Sisa ] They've kissed this very bald spot!
[ Sisa ] I sacrificed a cow on Wednesday.
[ Sisa ] All for the sake of Allah!
[ Sisa ] You think I do it for the money?
[ Sisa ] I do it so you can afford to get married.
[ Sisa ] I'm promoting tourism, in fact.
[ Sisa ] May His will prevail!
[ Sisa ] Laugh all you want!
[ Sisa ] There, brother, take a look!
[ Sisa ] What else do you need?
[ Sisa ] Thank God!
[ Sisa ] I'm the woman who met President el-Sisi, you know.
[ Sisa ] I'm the perfect mother.
[ Sisa ] How much are the bananas?
[ boy2 ] Film me with this man, please!
[ boy2 ] Turn your head this way!
[ Sisa ] I want a kilo of tender meat.
[ Sisa ] A kilo of meat, please.
[ Sisa ] Just meat.
[ Sisa ] Make sure it's from the loin.
MOHAMED LOTFY, TAXI DRIVER
[ Sisa ] I don't need money.
[ Sisa ] It's an offering for myself, my daughter and the president to be saved.
[ Sisa ] The poor guy's doing his best for us,
travelling all over to make our lives better.
[ Sisa ] Unlike Hosni Mubarak, who never did anything for us.
[ interviewer ] What are they celebrating?
[ Sisa ] This is a religious festival.
SISA ABAU DAUH EL-NEMR
[ Sisa ] It's held in honour of several saints.
[ Sisa ] Each region has its own saint.
[ Sisa ] All regions praise them before Ramadan.
[ Sisa ] During the festival, men and women
leave their homes,
and go out into the street together.
[ Sisa ] But when the time comes to eat and pray, men separate from women.
[ Sisa ] They have their own tents and trays with food.
[ Sisa ] Even my daughter and I don't discuss lots of things.
[ Sisa ] We keep it all in.
[ Sisa ] If my daughter was a boy,
I wouldn't be worried about her.
[ Sisa ] But sleeping in a man's arms,
not knowing what's happening to my daughter...
not knowing where she is…
[ Sisa ] I'll be her mother till my dying day.
[ Sisa ] I'll look after her and take care of her, always.
[ Sisa ] Yes, it was one of my hardest jobs.
[ Sisa ] And, probably, the time I carried cement,
and worked on a building site.
[ Sisa ] Remove it!
[ interviewer ] Who helped you in your work?
[ Sisa ] Only Allah!
[ Sisa ] My grandchildren just sell incense at the market.
[ interviewer ] - And who helped you build the house? [ Sisa ] - Only Allah! He helps me.
[ Sisa ] I made the bricks myself.
[ Sisa ] Builders lent me a hand.
[ Sisa ] I brought them the bricks, and this is my home.
[ Sisa ] There were no hair salons in the past.
[ Sisa ] Girls braided their hair with string.
[ Sisa ] Yes, life's moving on.
[ Sisa ] However, I don't approve of women visiting hair salons.
[ Sisa ] I never let my daughter go to salons,
that was how I raised her.
[ Sisa ] They're indecent.
[ Sisa ] I curse such women, I don't like them.
[ interviewer ] Have you never had a manicure?
[ Sisa ] No...
[ Sisa ] No, never.
[ interviewer ] She wants you to have a manicure without polish, just for cleanliness.
[ Sisa ] - Do you know men who do this? [ interviewer ] - Yes.
[ Sisa ] Where are they?
[ Sisa ] No, never!
[ interviewer ] She says you'll feel like a queen after this!
[ interviewer ] They want to give you a face mask, to cleanse the skin.
[ interviewer ] - It's to purify the skin. [ Sisa ] - No, no.
[ interviewer ] - What about the hair? [ Sisa ] - Not even my hair.
[ Sisa ] I cut my hair.
[ Sisa ] What if the president sees me like this?
[ interviewer ] Don't worry, modern men do it all the time.
[ interviewer ] While you have the mask on, sit still and relax your face.
[ Sisa ] Do you think these treatments will make me young again?
[ Sisa ] No, my youth is over!
[ interviewer ] Don't you think you missed out by not having one before?
[ Sisa ] No, thank God.
[ Sisa ] Even my daughter is wearing black all the time.
[ interviewer ] She is doing these things?
[ Sisa ] Even my daughter only uses kohl.
[ Sisa ] You can go to beauty salons, but I won't!
[ interviewer ] Sisa, how are you?
[ Sisa ] They removed Mother Earth from under my nails!
[ interviewer ] It's better?
[ Sisa ] I'm happy!
[ Sisa ] Women with high moral principles don't remarry after their husband's death.
[ Sisa ] They become strong like a man,
and don't start relationships with other men.
[ interviewer ] Do you personally prefer coloured or black clothes?
[ interviewer ] Not only for yourself, but for everybody else.
[ Sisa ] I love this one.
[ Sisa ] Why should I try these dresses?
[ Sisa ] I don' t want to try anything on! It's a sin.
[ interviewer ] Why do you choose only black clothes for your daughter?
[ Sisa ] So that she can leave the house in it.
[ Sisa ] My daughter only wears black.
[ Sisa ] It's how I brought her up. It's her style.
[ Sisa ] Who gave them these clothes?
[ Sisa ] They don't have food or money to pay the rent.
[ interviewer ] Is this for your daughter? Is she young?
[ Sisa ] She's got five kids!
[ Sisa ] And this one, too.
[ Sisa ] Shall we take it?
[ interviewer ] Would you like to try it on?
[ Sisa ] No.
[ seller ] Do you want to see a jalabiya to wear at home?
[ Sisa ] No, I don't.
[ Sisa ] Is it the same one?
[ seller2 ] Yes, the same but with trousers.
[ seller2 ] Have a look.
[ Sisa ] I wouldn't take off my robe for all the money in the world.
[ Sisa ] I've tried on a black hijab but it wasn't comfortable.
[ Sisa ] I've been wearing these clothes since my daughter was a baby,
and her family doesn't mind.
[ Sisa ] No! I'll leave if you try to make mea wear a dress.
[ Sisa ] I warned you I'd leave, didn't I?
[ Sisa ] Have you seen the cartoon about Kukuuaua?
SISA ABAU DAUH EL-NEMR
[ interviewer ] I've heard about Chihuahua but not Kukuuaua…
[ Sisa ] She doesn't know!
[ Sisa ] Well, just think...
[ Sisa ] I've worn a Kukuuaua costume my whole life.
[ Sisa ] It was my choice!