Taimour And Shafiqa

Taimour and Shafiqa is an Egyptian movie which was released in 2007. Taimour and Shafiqa loved each other since they met in childhood. Taimour, works as a bodyguard, while Shafiqa got a PhD and later got chosen as a government minister. As for the plot, Taimour became Shafiqa’s bodyguard and their relationship became difficult due to her position so Shafiqa decided to relinquish her job.

The movie is a gender-based story looking at how a woman’s success is represented as a barrier to her happiness and that the woman has to sacrifice her professional ambition to keep her man.

During the movie, Taimour repeatedly said: “Shafiqa, you’re mine”. He rebuked her when she traveled without his permission, though they weren’t in an official relationship then! In return, she was told to tolerate him because she would never find someone who could love her as much as him! The manliness and masculinity of Taimour prevented him from apologizing and saying sorry even when it is so obvious he was the guilty one!

The movie tries to convince us that Taimour was acting in that way, because he was being protective of Shafika but in reality, he was envious of her success and achievements. After Shafiqa was appointed as a minister, he said that she would still be the same child whose hand he used to hold to help her cross the street. He refused to marry her until she quit her job, saying that he couldn’t work for his wife as it would embarrass his masculinity.

Even when Shafiqa’s mother tried to convince him to let her work, she said letting Shafiqa work would be better than listening to her talking about women’s rights and all that trouble!

At the end of the movie, Shafiqa gave up her job and male chauvinism won.

The movie is so relevant to our Arab-Muslim society where women are made to believe that whatever they achieved, they would need a man in their lives. Whatever the education and career a woman gets, there will be something missing in her life without a man and children.