A Mother's Day Present

An Attempt by Mona Nawal Helmy to Carry Her Mother’s Name

Alaa El Damaty

In hearing the name Mona Nawal Helmy, a feeling of awkwardness prevails. In Egypt, it is uncommon to have a middle name of Nawal, a woman's name. Mona Nawal Helmy is an Egyptian feminist and writer. Lately, she has been brought to the attention of the media for her claim that children should carry their mother's, not father's names, as shown in the name "Nawal Helmy"

On Mother’s Day, Mona Nawal Helmy said, “What am I going to give my mother, a present? A shoe or a dress? So my present to my mother is to carry her name.” In Egypt, a surname usually consists of the paternal family name. Despite her obvious feminist intentions to revive the reign of matriarchy in Egypt, Mona claims that adopting the mother's name will solve the problem of two million illegitimate children in Egypt. According to Helmy, if a child has no father, he/she carries the mother's name but is considered illegitimate by Egyptian law and is denied basic human rights. Adopting the mother’s name will end prejudice against a child that does not know who his/her father is. The child would not be then called "ibn haram", (son of sin); he would not be denied his rights.

Mona's solution to the problem of illegitimate children opens up a can of worms. In providing a solution to a minor problem, she creates an even bigger problem. It is not feasible to carry the mother's name instead of the father's name, defying Christian, Muslim, and Egyptian laws just to solve the problem of two million illegitimate children. She must address a more viable solution to that problem.

Many find Mona Nawal Helmy's opinions to be radical. Her views are condemned by many Muslim scholars who strongly believe that she violates the dictates of the Shari'a. She was even sued for denouncing Islam by lawyer Nabil El-Wahsh. Mona Nawal Helmy was also condemned by Al-Azhar and many political institutions.In legal terms, Mona Helmy is not allowed to adopt her mother's name.

While some see her feminist views as reformist, most see them as radical. One year has passed since this controversy, and things have calmed down. The Egyptians have forgotten about her claims, and the status quo remains unchanged. The total dismissal of her views shows that feminism in Egypt still has a long way to go.

When surveyed, 85% of the Schutz population thought that Mona's claims were radical; 90% voted to dismiss the idea of adopting the mother's name. The fact that most Schutz students, which represent a sample of the liberal, educated population in Egypt, also opposed her views, only adds more to the fact that Egyptians reject radical feminism and are not ready for a radical/reformist view such as Mona's views. An effective way of introducing change is to avoid ideas that clash with the values and core beliefs of the community.