20 - Amīra Aš - Širbīnī : ‘Itq (Liberation)

Summary

Revolution is a time marked by suffering, but socio-political changes are a part of the world order. The revolution known as the Arab Spring was the dream of the citizens of many Arab countries, which finally began to materialize. Citizens believed that the revolution would change their lives, as its participants no longer wanted to be enslaved and exploited. Their desire was to be free, to improve their living conditions and future prospects. Two years after the outbreak of the revolution many Egyptians expressed the view that the political situation in Egypt has become complicated and the country is falling into increasing economic ruin. These dilemmas are taken up by Amīra aš-Širbīnī in the novel ‘Itq (Liberation).

The novel tells the story of a thirty-year-old woman and depicts the fate of her relatives and friends. It also touches on political and social topics related to the revolution of January 25, 2011. The author reflects on male– female relationships and concepts such as love and marriage, but the scope of the storyline is limited to the spectrum of activities and accounts of the main character, and therefore the work resembles an autobiography. The characters are poorly outlined, and the dialogues seem artificial and forced. The first-person narrator is the main character, and she talks about love and related problems, but does not reveal the name of her beloved because love matters get complicated and the relationship eventually ends in separation. She leaves Egypt and goes to work in Oman. The heroine also introduces a group of her friends and companions: Salmā, Kawṯar, Ḥalā, Violet, Šahd and Bahā’. She describes the relationships between them, but we also learn the story of the journalist Richard, the sister of the heroine – Munā, and of Sīlfī and her husband Muḥammad, who treats the narrator as his daughter.

The author presents the difficult situation in Egypt after the 2011 revolution. The country is in disarray, work is lacking, factories and offices are not functioning properly, it is dangerous, and the economic situation of the country is bad, what citizens feel very severely.