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Hanaa Ibrahim Mohammed in front of her vegetable cart – Photo by Shaimaa El Youssef
After retiring from her government job as an administrative employee, tour operator Hanan Khashaba decided to revive her long-postponed dreams. She didn’t dwell on the question of what she would do after leaving work; instead, she saw retirement as the beginning of a new chapter. “Women have a never-ending job managing the family,” she says. “There were many other things I wanted to do, but the whirlwind of work and family responsibilities never left me any time.”
Photography and reading, along with a number of cultural activities, most notably organizing trips, were among the hobbies Khashaba wanted to revive after retirement. She had postponed acting on these interests for years, and she finally was able to set a weekly schedule to practice them, successfully turning her plan into reality. “My dream was to visit every corner of Egypt and document what I saw, the sites and experiences, through photography,” she says, “and thank God, I’ve been able to travel and take lots of pictures.”
Khashaba believes that the age of 60 represents a golden opportunity to enjoy life and fulfil postponed dreams. During her travels, she has met many women of the same age who also decided to open a new chapter in life and enjoy what they had previously missed. “It doesn’t have to be a big achievement or something significant in society,” she adds. “What matters is that it brings joy, even if it’s just simple things that some might consider trivial.”
Help yourselves in moments of solitude
Dr. Asmaa Murad al-Fakhrani, a women’s empowerment coach, believes that the stereotypical image of married women in Eastern societies prevents them from enjoying life after the age of 60. Their role, from the moment of marriage, is confined to caring for the family, to the point that they lose their personal space and forget their right to care for themselves, as their time becomes dedicated to meeting the needs of husbands and children.
“Many women relinquish this right willingly,” she explains, “submitting completely to the wishes of their husbands and children, only to find in the end that they have lived solely for others.”
Al-Fakhrani also points to the situation of divorced women, noting that their children often prevent them from remarrying after divorce, especially if they are over 50: they argue that this age is no longer suitable for marriage. At the same time, society stigmatizes these women’s desire to remarry as socially unacceptable, and this desire is stifled by phrases like “you’re too old now, just live for your children.”
Al-Fakhrani stresses the importance of breaking down stereotypes associated with older women and encourages them to enjoy life, saying, “I tell women: take a moment of solitude for yourselves, take care of yourselves, reflect and contemplate your own lives.”
“Stay home, you’re too old!”
In the arts, stereotypes associated with aging continue to surround women. Esteemed actress Amina Rizk portrayed the character of Afifa in the film Land of Dreams (Ard al-Ahlam) (1993) by Daoud Abdel Sayed; she played an elderly woman whose personality is bold and unconventional, who marries in old age and escapes from a nursing home to meet with her lover.
Afifa’s character carries a striking symbolic dimension: it later becomes clear that her lover had died long ago, as the film’s drama seems to suggest that love serves as a vital psychological refuge for the elderly, offering solace from the harshness and loneliness of old age.
In a parallel context challenging stereotypical views of older women, director Inas el-Degheidy sparked widespread debate after announcing her marriage, in her seventies, to businessman Ahmed Sukarno. She was bombarded with abusive comments on social media, particularly after journalist Lamis el-Hadidy interviewed her and said, “You’ve made me not lose hope in love, Inas.”
These stereotypes are sometimes used as a weapon to harass older female artists on social media, in attempts to restrict their artistic activity and push them out of the public eye. Offensive comments circulate, like “focus on your afterlife,” “repent to God and retire,” “you’re too old, have some shame,” and “repent before it’s too late, you’re ne step from the grave.”
These stereotypes are sometimes used as a weapon to harass older female artists on social media, in attempts to restrict their artistic activity and push them out of the public eye.
In an interview with Medfeminiswiya, actress Elham Shahein states that those who promote such views are often people with no real influence who attack female artists simply for being women, leaving insulting comments like “you’re too old now and nearing death.”
Addressing those who post such comments, Shahein asks, “Who is accountable for whom? When someone tells a woman to sit down, pray, and think of the afterlife, is it because they truly care about her? Are they afraid she won’t enter Paradise? Or is it that they will be judged on her behalf? Every person is accountable for their own actions. If she makes a mistake, she is the one who will answer for it.”
Shahein believes that death makes no distinction between young and old, as many pass away at a young age, and emphasizes that subjecting older women to such judgment is unjustified. She advises women not to pay attention to such remarks, saying, “A woman has to know what she wants, do what she believes is right, what she thinks is best.”
