As I Want

Filmmaker Samaher Alqadi combines an up-close account of the 2013 Egyptian women’s protests, with personal reflections on her role as a woman, mother and daughter. Powerful statement against repression of women in the Arab world. ‘Why should I be afraid of my voice?’

After the January 25 revolution removed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in 2011, the Muslim Brotherhood of Mohamed Morsi gains power. During anti-Morsi protests on the second anniversary of the revolution, groups of men infiltrate the crowds and sexually assault female protesters. These public gangrapes ignite a powerful, spontaneous movement of women furiously taking to the streets.

Palestinian filmmaker Samaher Alqadi is in the middle of it, filming the protests and discussions of this brave group of women – and a few men. She also uses her camera to protect herself walking down the Cairo streets with bare legs and without a head scarf. The reactions of passers-by and the continuous verbal harassment are shocking to witness. When Alqadi turns out to be pregnant, this leads her to reflect on her freedom, her upbringing, and the fate of the women in her family.