The trials, tribulations, and taboos faced by ordinary youths, the deep cultural significance of the ordinary spo­ken word, and the actions of ordinary women surmounting the barriers of silence and passivity — these are the subjects covered in this third edition of MEI Viewpoints on the State of the Arts in the Middle East.

Herein, W. Scott Chahanovich explores the prose of the Shabab (Youth) literature in Egypt as exemplified by Mo­stafa Fathi’s World of Boys. Martin Gani discusses the contributions of Sabiha Sumar, the award-winning documen­tary filmmaker and director, whose cinematic works offer insight into the lives and aspirations of Pakistani women. And Gamil Sinki reveals the richness of colloquial Egyptian.


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