Can a new sitcom with a fresh approach to addressing society's problems be a catalyst for social change in Egypt? Rania Khallaf finds out A novel way of tackling women's issues in Egyptian society has been undertaken by Coiffeur Ashwaq, a sitcom series launched last week by Media Arts for Development (MADEV). The sitcom comes within the framework of a project called "Capture Life", partly funded by the Delegation of the European Commission in Egypt, which deals with social issues through TV comedies. Produced by Arascope Company, the company that launched MADEV, and directed by Refaat Azmi, the 15-episode show addresses various social and gender-related issues, such as equal opportunities, violence against women, girls' right to education, early marriages, divorce cases and sexual harassment. Established in 2005, MADEV believes in the "edutainment" approach to development through media. This involves producing media programmes that educate while entertaining the viewer. The MADEV team focuses on creating and producing television programmes from within Middle Eastern culture in order to address issues that are specifically relevant to the development of communities within the region. The programmes are designed to present children and families with a positive message that promotes healthy social values and principles. "It is only the beginning of a long relationship with the European Commission," said Lula Zaqlama, a founding member of MADEV. At a press conference held last week at the European Commission premises in Cairo to announce the launching of the project, Zaqlama said that MADEV is considering completing the episodes with another part for the next season. "We know quite well that people's attitudes will not change overnight," said Marline Labib, board chair of MADEV. "However, what we do in this series is to urge people to rethink their attitudes concerning many problematic issues in our daily lives." Most of the sitcom's events take place at Ashwaq's hair parlour, which occupies the first floor of her home. Played brilliantly by veteran comedian Mimi Gamal, Ashwaq is a middle class woman who, through her work in the shop, communicates with different social categories resulting in comic struggles and situations. Employing television drama as a campaigning measure has not always had the desired effect in Egypt. In the 1970s and 80s, the Information Ministry consistently used television to try and raise awareness on issues such as birth control and squandering water, but was not successful. Nevertheless, Zaqlama strongly believes that the media is a powerful tool in changing people's social attitudes. The idea this time was not to launch a campaign with commercials, but to do it in a different way that is entertaining, so that every member of the family would get the message. "We were totally aware that the script should be ironic and humorous to impact people," Sherif Badreddin, one of the scriptwriters on the team, said. A few years ago, sitcoms as a drama genre were a completely new phenomenon in Egypt and Arab countries. The smashing success of Tamer and Shawqiya, a sitcom screened in two parts for the last couple of years during Ramadan, has set the atmosphere for the production of similar comic series. Coiffeur Ashwaq was written by a team of scriptwriters, most of whom have participated in writing Tamer and Shawqiya, and Ragel wa Sit Settat (A man and Six Women), another popular sitcom screened last year on almost all Arab satellite channels. Each of the 15 20-minute-long episodes addresses a specific social issue related to women, which was particularly challenging to the writers of the sitcom as they had to present serious social problems in comedic situations. "We have not tackled thorny issues, such as religion and politics, so as our message would be more general and can reach everyone regardless of their religion and political affiliation," said Mohamed Ismail, the editor of the show. Surprisingly enough, the main group of scriptwriters are all males. The script, as Badreddin said, was a product of a workshop. "As a group of friends, it was not hard to have a consensus on the written script, but we needed to adhere to the outline of principles agreed upon with MADEV," he said. "The character of a hairdresser is rarely dealt with in Egyptian drama, despite the richness of topics that it could entail. It is as if you are watching a whole world existing in just one small place." Ismail believes that the main reason behind the increasing popularity of sitcoms is people's keenness to laugh and forget their troubles and mounting life pressures. Hisham Helal, a member on the team of editors and scriptwriters, said these short sitcoms were the ideal way to reach youth and children, who lack the patience for traditional hour-long drama series. Azmi, the sitcom's director, has recently been working on a short sitcom called Abbas wi Inas, which deals with the problems facing married couples during the first year of marriage. The series is also scheduled for screening during Ramadan. "Besides the humour element, sitcoms are more economical from the producers' point of view. All the shooting happens in one location and it only takes a day to finish one episode," Azmi said. He believes that the choreography of the location, with its bright and attractive décor and modern furniture, plays a role in drawing more audiences. As part of its mission to empower women and children specifically, as well as encourage literacy and basic education for all in general, MADEV will also launch a website titled Settat on Chat (Women on Chat), designed to enlighten women regarding their problems in order to attain a positive change in society. Labib said the website will constitute a forum for women to communicate with a number of active associations specialised in developing and empowering women in Egypt. "Visitors of the website will have access to around seven NGOs whose main activity is to provide various social services and projects for women in all fields," she said. The website will be advertised during the sitcom. The idea is that when women watch the show and are exposed to these problems, they will go online and discuss them with other women and experts, Labib said. MADEV is also preparing educational kits to train NGOs, using media as a tool for raising gender awareness. In Egypt, where television occupies a prominent role in family life, it is encouraging that TV programmes are now being reinvented to be used as tools for social advancement.
