THE unabated invasion of the Western media has had an influential impact on the Arab household and culture, to the extent that it has changed the values of the people and the way they live. The first victims of this invasion, which takes the shape of soap operas, video clips and talk shows, are Arab women in general and Egyptians in particular, because it has lured them into adopting alien attitudes and values. One of these changes is that Arab and Egyptian women have become more and more attracted to different cultures, imitating what they see in these Western dramas and songs, in terms of their social behaviour and attitudes. Depending on her social class and level of education, the degree of assimilation varies from one Egyptian woman to another. This assimilation has manifested itself in the fact that many upper-class or upper middleclass Egyptian girls have dropped the idea of getting married, becoming more independent or adopting liberal ideas that conflict with the values and norms of their Middle Eastern and Arab societies. Unlike in rural and peasant societies, the urban woman, thanks to the Western media and cultural invasion, boasts that she is partially member of her own society and also alien societies that are more advanced and liberal. However, these women are gravely mistaken, because Middle Eastern men still care to choose wives, who are attached to the culture and norms of their respective societies and keen on preserving this culture and these norms in their homes and families. Each Middle Eastern man still seeks a wife who satisfies his ego as a man and treats him like a crowned king of his home – nothing more, nothing less. Alien cultural interference is nothing but an obstacle that impedes the process of building Arab and Egyptian families or their marriage plans for their children, because women have begun adopting Western attitudes and ways of life that are incompatible with our societies. By the Way: A man gets married to end his life, but a woman does so to start hers. A woman loves a man who makes swift decisions, until he marries her. There is a big difference between one woman who is proud of her beauty and another who is just proud of being herself. [email protected]
