Her-itage

Her-itage is a day full of events dedicated to learning about and celebrating women’s heritage through a variety of activities. It is part of the Through Walls project.

The Through Walls project is part of the Communities Connecting HeritageSM program, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, administered by World Learning (www.worldlearning.org). It is implemented in Cairo in collaboration with Athar Lina Initiative.

Through Walls celebrates women empowerment and cultural heritage by exploring the connections between Chicano and Egyptian cultures through the creation of two murals, one in Los Angeles (to be implemented in summer) and one in Cairo (April 28 – May 9). To launch the start of the mural and cultural exchange in Cairo, we invite you to attend the following three events on April 28, 2018 and engage with us on the topic of women’s heritage that will be explored in the murals.

The Cairo mural will be implemented in the Darb al-Husr sports area in al-Khalifa. As part of the project’s activities, there will be a seminar on street art, and an exhibition showing the development of the mural on May 8th, 2018.

Schedule
Tour: Al-Khalifa Women – 5:30-6:30pm
Since the dawn of history, “Eset”, or “al-Sitt” or “Sayyida”, are titles bestowed by Egyptians on great women that stirred the people’s conscience and spirit. A number of these women’s monuments, ranging from houses to shrines, to domes, are located on one street, and that is al-Khalifa, one of the oldest streets from Fatimid Cairo, gathered between the house and the dome and the scene.

The tour will start at the tomb of Sayyida Nafisa (Nafisa al-‘Alm – Nafisa of knowledge) to the dome of Fatima Khatun, the mother of al-Salih ibn Qalawun, and then to the shrine of Sayyida Ruqayya the granddaughter of the Prophet, to the mausoleum of Shajar al-Durr, the only female ruler of Egypt in the Islamic period, followed by the shrine Sayyida Sukayna, the sharifa of Quraysh. The tour will end at the house of Sakna Pasha, the singer with the diamond voice.

Following the tour, there will be a lecture and seminar (Daughters of the Goddess Isis) on the origin of this appreciation of these Sayyidas and the role of women in ancient Egypt, which may shed light on the value of our cultural dialogue.

Lecture: Daughters of the goddess Isis – 6:30pm-7:30pm
Women in ancient Egypt had a strong social and legal status and did not struggle to obtain that status. It was a natural status based on a deep religious belief in the equality of the two sexes in human life. The goddess Isis, Queen Hatshepsut, the writer Idot, the physician Pischet, and the priestess Emert are all important examples. However, most often, women would run their households, be loving wives, tender mothers, but when the circumstances required their presence in the arena of life, they proved to be an unrivaled success. She was never hated or despised and was always admired as the source of life and beauty.

Workshop: Tamales x Vine Leaves- 7:30-10:30pm
Food has always been a bonding exercise whether in its consumption or preparation. This workshop will explore this bond and serve as an ice-breaker for the participants of Through Walls to get to know the community. You are invited to join them in the preparation of two traditional dishes, one from Chicano and Egyptian culture each.
Lecture and tour will take place in Arabic. Workshop will be conducted in Arabic and English.

Please register for the tour and/or workshop: https://goo.gl/forms/sZyHniqgTaCQZYP33
No registration is required for the lecture.
All events are free of charge.