https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLBjUyrxlR3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
In 1958, at the height of Arab nationalism, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser stood before a crowd, recounting a meeting he’d had with leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood — a group already pressing for an Islamist vision of society. They demanded, among other things, that every woman in Egypt be required to wear a hijab — by law.
Nasser, secular, defiant, and deeply aware of Egypt’s diverse and complex identity, replied with a smirk, “Even your own daughter doesn’t wear the hijab!” The audience burst into laughter.
But it was what happened next that history should never forget:
He told the crowd that the Brotherhood leader insisted women should be forced to wear it.
Nasser’s response: “I told him, ‘If you’re that concerned, put one on yourself.’”
The crowd erupted — not in anger, but in laughter. In laughter at the absurdity of extremism. At the idea that women’s freedom, dignity, and autonomy could be dictated by law, by force, by bearded dogma. This was not a liberal, Western audience. This was Cairo, 1958 — the beating heart of the Arab world — laughing at the notion of religious coercion.
What changed?
Today, that very idea — once mocked in public squares — has become policy in parts of the Middle East and idealized by apologists in the West. Today, young women are arrested, beaten, or killed for refusing to cover themselves. What once triggered laughter now triggers violence. What once seemed unthinkable has become normalized.
The irony? Egypt in 1958 was more progressive on women’s rights than parts of Europe are today, where fear and appeasement of radical voices silence criticism under the banner of “tolerance.”
We must remember: That moment in 1958 was not just a joke. It was a line in the sand. A leader publicly rejecting the weaponization of religion. A crowd unafraid to mock theocrats. A society confident in its secular dignity.
This is not about hijabs. It’s about choice. It’s about remembering that when society laughs in the face of extremism, it means we are still free.
Let that laughter echo again. Not in mockery of faith — but in defiance of forced submission.
HebrideanUltraTerfHecate /
npub1e3…kkndc
2025-06-23 17:24:43
Author Public Key
npub1e3xthy5u0hugnazmqwku5zzsljwv4cnjclyxzcrd65zflhu5238sakkndcPublished at
2025-06-23 17:24:43Event JSON
{
"id": "a97896a65fb7859f2babd35269000fc2650951074fe0f8446b1b4308f51c0f54",
"pubkey": "cc4cbb929c7df889f45b03adca0850fc9ccae272c7c861606dd5049fdf94544f",
"created_at": 1750699483,
"kind": 1,
"tags": [
[
"proxy",
"https://spinster.xyz/objects/5465b151-3197-42ad-afb0-c1ae48d695fa",
"activitypub"
],
[
"client",
"Mostr",
"31990:6be38f8c63df7dbf84db7ec4a6e6fbbd8d19dca3b980efad18585c46f04b26f9:mostr",
"wss://relay.mostr.pub"
]
],
"content": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLBjUyrxlR3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\n\nIn 1958, at the height of Arab nationalism, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser stood before a crowd, recounting a meeting he’d had with leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood — a group already pressing for an Islamist vision of society. They demanded, among other things, that every woman in Egypt be required to wear a hijab — by law.\n\nNasser, secular, defiant, and deeply aware of Egypt’s diverse and complex identity, replied with a smirk, “Even your own daughter doesn’t wear the hijab!” The audience burst into laughter.\n\nBut it was what happened next that history should never forget:\n\nHe told the crowd that the Brotherhood leader insisted women should be forced to wear it.\n\nNasser’s response: “I told him, ‘If you’re that concerned, put one on yourself.’”\n\nThe crowd erupted — not in anger, but in laughter. In laughter at the absurdity of extremism. At the idea that women’s freedom, dignity, and autonomy could be dictated by law, by force, by bearded dogma. This was not a liberal, Western audience. This was Cairo, 1958 — the beating heart of the Arab world — laughing at the notion of religious coercion.\n\nWhat changed?\n\nToday, that very idea — once mocked in public squares — has become policy in parts of the Middle East and idealized by apologists in the West. Today, young women are arrested, beaten, or killed for refusing to cover themselves. What once triggered laughter now triggers violence. What once seemed unthinkable has become normalized.\n\nThe irony? Egypt in 1958 was more progressive on women’s rights than parts of Europe are today, where fear and appeasement of radical voices silence criticism under the banner of “tolerance.”\n\nWe must remember: That moment in 1958 was not just a joke. It was a line in the sand. A leader publicly rejecting the weaponization of religion. A crowd unafraid to mock theocrats. A society confident in its secular dignity.\n\nThis is not about hijabs. It’s about choice. It’s about remembering that when society laughs in the face of extremism, it means we are still free.\n\nLet that laughter echo again. Not in mockery of faith — but in defiance of forced submission.",
"sig": "5a53b3006e970badc79638a6063158614f977b84c3e7fcdcc15527b88df95c2e01e49fcda7aa4e1882aa392f8f6f1bbc4c35598ed21e89626293e174b5501e11"
}