Fe-mail: The trials and tribulations of being a Good Egyptian Girl, Amy Mowafi

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"Throughout it all, there remained the underlying quest to become a Good Egyptian Girl. To say the right thing, to do the right thing, to act the right way, to marry the right man and to do it all while wearing the right dress. To find that elusive balance between who I am, who I ought to be and who my parents and high society peers want me to be. To stumble along that precarious line between East and West and try to pay a little attention to God's advice along the way."


"I have places to go and the people I see will help me get there. Real friends? Please! For what? A shoulder to cry on? Moral support? For wimps. I need contacts, it's not what you know, it's who you know and who their daddy is."


"I aimed for girls with sparkling careers. Wrong, wrong, wrong. There are careers and there are 'It Girls', and never the twain shall meet. How is one to see and be seen when there's the nasty business of work to attend to?"


"007 might love a smart girl with a dash of chutzpah; 00Egyptian would much rather opt for the pretty little quiet thing in the corner with the right daddy, thank you very much."


"Integrity? Sincerity? Candour? For wimps. This is a battle. You are a virgin until proven otherwise. Previous experience? Who me? Never! And the best bit is your average Arab man is more than willing to feign ignorance as to the ways of the world. He has no desire to know the truth. He will eagerly swallow every feigned personality trait you throw at him. Of course this begs the question: If every Arab boy spends his youth proudly sowing his seed, and every Arab girl is fabulously virtuous, where exactly are these seeds being harvested? Details, details!"


"Want to grab yourself a piece of the rapidly diminishing husband pie? Then all notions of 'take me as I am' must be thrown out the window. Take me as I am? Which is what exactly? A slightly neurotic workaholic who needs little encouragement to let loose on the dance floor, laughs a little too loudly and makes up her ideals as she goes along? Take me as I am, my ass."


"Never accept a date on the Wednesday before the Saturday. No wait, that's The Rules. Always accept a date. They're hard to come by, especially if you're smart, successful and independent. Brave be the Arab man who comes your way. Welcome him with arms wide open. But remember, he's only half as brilliant as you think he is."


"Deep down, every nice young lady would like to be the bad girl, at least once... maybe even twice. The luscious Lolita, the femme fatale, the indifferent and irresistible sex siren that can bring grown men to their knees. To sway one's hips freely and say all those naughty thoughts out loud; to act suggestively and live voluptuously. To know, for however fleeting the moment, that the power is in your hands, simply because you've decided to stop giving a damn."


"I will do it right. I will have an actual real-life wedding. I will be surrounded by my family, friends and colleagues. He will be 'right for me' and I for him and everyone will be deliriously happy."