Daughters of the Nile

Although DAUGHTERS OF THE NILE premiered in 1982, the film hasn’t lost any of its current interest. It offers a unique insight into a segment of Egyptian society that has hardly changed over the years. The lives of women in Egypt can still be very limiting, with all aspects of their existence spelled out by tradition and the teachings of the Koran. With little voice in their education, or marriage, they must accept the unbending rules of their society. The Daughters of the Nile offers a unique account of their day-to-day living, married to men chosen by their fathers.

Current Interest

Today fundamentalism is an extremely powerful element in Egyptian society, only curbed by Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorship (see BBC Q&A). Therefore DAUGHTERS OF THE NILE still is a direct and powerful treatment of women in Egypt. The film reflects the unchanged views of Egyptian women on their society. The film includes interviews with a young urban servant in a wealthy household, but its focus is on life in a small rural village south of Cairo.

Social Interest

This beautifully photographed, revealing film about Egypt’s women captures their separate and subordinate life under the Islamic code. In DAUGHTERS OF THE NILE We meet articulate women who have had little schooling and whose lives are centered on childbearing and hard physical work. They acknowledge that their choices in life are limited. The Koran dictates behavior at every stage of life. Their husbands are selected by their fathers. Often, at puberty they are taken out of school. They unquestioningly accept circumcision, arranged marriages, huge families and polygamous husbands.

Political Interest

In Egypt many Women after marriage are secluded and some may never set eyes on another man. By participating in this film, the women question for the first time some of the assumptions of their lives. As the film was shown, it led to an outrage and threats by Egyptian authorities for broadcasting the film abroad. In order to prevent the rushes of her film from being confiscated, director Hillie Molenaar fled to the Dutch Ambassy in Cairo

Historic Interest

DAUGHTERS OF THE NILE was shot in 1981, a few months before the assassination of President Sadat. One of Sadat’s enduring legacies was the return of militant Islam and the rising popularity of fundamentalism. Increasingly women in Islamic society were kept largly isolated, leading secluded lives with a focus on bearing children, while husbands are allowed to take numerous wives and participate in society. Although there are many passages in the Koran that allow for a much more equal relationship between men and women, the Islamic fundamentalists are still reluctant to interpret it that way.