User Reviews

Having incorrectly and vaguely labelled 'Cairo 678' a 'feminist movie', I was pleasantly surprised to have all my misconceptions quashed in such a subtle and articulate manner. Yes, Cairo 678 is a film about 'women's plight' in Egypt but also an important commentary on the class structure inherent in most societies but particularly stark in Cairo where gleaming BMWs travel alongside over-heated, bursting buses where sexual harassment is inevitably common place, as depicted in the film. Feyza is a working-class mother struggling to pay her children's school fees and to fend off her husband's sexual advances. It soon becomes apparent that her tardiness to work is simply a result of her desperate attempts to avoid the over-crowded buses where she is routinely molested by over-eager male passengers. She soon befriends Seba, a wealthy self- defence teacher whom we learn was raped a year earlier, as well as a middle class student (Nelly) whose life-threatening assault results in a historic first legal case for sexual harassment in Egypt.

What binds these women together is a frustration at the unashamed impunity to these men's actions and society's pretend ignorance about their daily struggle to walk down Cairo's streets without harassment. However, the film also points to a greater problem inherent in Egypt's societal structure where the struggle to attain money, power and status take precedence over morality and the fostering of positive and fulfilling life plans and relationships. Nelly is encouraged to drop her court case by her family to protect her reputation, Seba is advised not to report the rape by her mother to preserve her powerful father's reputation and Feyza is forced to continue taking the bus to salvage enough money to pay her children's school fees. All three women appreciate the farcical nature of the attitudes they are subjected to, yet the barriers to mounting a justified response emotionally or in action seem insurmountable. A common thread explored in the film is the hippocracy and confusion regarding the issue of sexual harassment which is a relevant issue in both traditional and 'westernised' cultures. Should women shoulder the blame if they are a victim of harassment, and if not, why does guilt and shame always play such a large role in the aftermath?

A survey conducted by Haven, a sexual assault centre found that more than half of women thought that rape victims are sometimes to blame for the crime. So, it seems that the fight to reconfigure perceptions of sexual harassment and assault extend to both women and men, an issue painfully and clearly demonstrated in Cairo 678 when Seba questions Reyza's lack of guilt after she secretly starts stabbing the men who molest her in retaliation. Reyza responds by explaining that she conducts herself modestly and covers her hair so she has no reason to feel guilty, unlike Seba who leaves her hair loosely flowing and wears tight clothes and so is in some way to blame for any unwanted advances. The impact of these frustrations and violations extends to the women's intimate relationships with the men in their lives.

To Reyza, Seba and Nelly, it seems that the men in their lives are just as guilty of the rampant sexualisation of the predators and the hippocracy of society as a whole and it seems that at times they find it impossible to differentiate between the two. The director effectively demonstrates how the daily grind of constantly being on guard and dealing with eroticisation wears the women down and creates a dichotomy in which the women struggle with the desire for revenge and justice, coupled with the pressure to conform to social expectations. However, the strength and originality of the film's vision lies in it's willingness to give the balanced view where men are not wholly villainised; that would be far too easy. Men's exposure to a new-found culture of open sexualisation of women and the mirage of availability is sensitively portrayed, in conjunction with the financial barriers to marriage. The idea of marriage being a cultural protective factor for the male population with regards to sexual harassment and 'deviance' is also challenged with an unexpected twist to the plot.

In all, Cairo 678 wonderfully depicts a society in which sexual assault and harassment divide opinion and attitude in both public and personal life, more than simply down the lines of gender. As societies struggle with the changing and more proactive role of women in daily life along with evolving imagery involving female sexuality and availability, an open and dynamic forum is required to challenge long-standing and held deeply beliefs about blame, stigma and shame. Feyza, Reza and Nelly's experiences convincingly and emotively demonstrate the painful and costly consequences of avoiding such discussion.

the plot was quiet misunderstood and the script was mediocre i wasn't really surprised by the mistakes that the filmmaker made and several things were not clear in the movie however ,but one of of the things that i liked is maged el kedwani's performance ,i didn't also really agree with certain reviews on this movie but the movie is not really that bad (didn't say anything against it)but i thought the movie seemed more important than good cz it talks about the sexual harassment in the arab countries and i honestly never saw a movie about the sexual harassment ..Mohamed diab who directed and wrote the script is not a director he is an Egyptian writer ,he wrote (el gezira)and many others stories ,anyways if i had to rate this movie i would give it 6.5/10

It is the movie based on a true story that once happened in the Egypt, that three women raised their voice against the heinous and poignant situation of sexual harassment against the ladies in the Egypt. I have surprised that how this much sexual harassment happening in the Egypt!! The director has given a clear picture of how much depth is in the amount of sexual harassment in this particular country and their women. Here there are four couple's stories narrated by the director, from this all three couples relation is not going in a well off manner, in all three women getting some king of problems created by their husbands, and all three were suffering due to their husband problems. Another interesting noted things here is the when women raised their voice against any kind of harassment, nobody is supporting on this and they are asking that if anything lost from them, if anything from them then only chance for the attention of others will try to help the victims, such interesting situation. In the police department also they are looking on the mens side rather than the victims. I think based on the attempt of three women one law passed in Egypt against the sexual harassment as crime, in Egypt.